Despite the last-gasp comeback: Fesing criticises Al-Ittihad players after the draw with Al-Shamal

What did the German coach say?

Al-Ittihad head coach Jens Wissing turned his fire on his own players after the draw with Qatar's Al-Shamal in the AFC Champions League Elite.

The Saudi side were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Shamal on Monday at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, in the first round of the league phase of the Asian tournament.

Speaking at the post-match press conference in comments reported by the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat", Wissing said: "A tough encounter. We faced a difficult team, we have gone through difficult weeks, and it was an uneven match."

He added: "We had chances and so did they. We lost our sharpness and our decision-making in the final third, but I am pleased that we did not lose hope. It is a fair draw for both sides, and it was not an open contest."

Pinpointing the missed openings, he went on: "We did not get our decisions right in the final third, such as a chance for (Steven) Bergwijn and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi. We did not handle them in the required manner."

He continued: "What we also lacked was accuracy in front of goal. We lost the final decision, and the opponent was good. We had good chances, but we were not successful in the final third. It is a matter of decisions."

Asked about the first break after more than a month of matches, the German said: "The break has come at the right time after this period. We will rest and then return to work."

He concluded: "We have many aspects we want to develop. We will think about resting now, and after the break we will have a big encounter that we will think about later."

Al-Ittihad came within a whisker of their first defeat of the season. Trailing by a single goal, they were rescued in stoppage time by new Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, who fired home the equaliser.