He Al Ittihad had a tough 3-1 defeat against Al Shabab on the 29th of the Saudi Pro League of Saudi Arabia in a meeting that was lived on the surface Marcelo Gallardo as coach of the Tigers. The defeated team remains in fifth place, 30 points behind the leader (Al Hilal) and no longer has mathematical possibilities of aspiring to the second placement, property of the Al Nassr of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Chain TNT Sports carried out careful monitoring of the Doll during the 90 minutes developed in the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. The smile shown moments after the initial whistle began to fade when the ball started rolling in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
Gallant he stayed away from the substitute bench in several sections of a crucial match because A victory took him to the third place in the championship, the last qualifying ticket for the 2024/25 Asian Champions League.. The uneasiness over the performance displayed provoked his anger in the 37th minute when he gave an order to one of his players on the side in the middle of a defensive outing. It is worth highlighting, Karim Benzema He did not participate in the duel due to injury, despite having started the last four games of the local tournament.
Later, the former River Plate coach carefully followed a preview of the Tigers which ended in a goal kick. At halftime, they reviewed a series of images with different postcards of the counselor in the first 45 minutes.
The concern of Doll It deepened a few seconds after the complement with the goal of Habib Diallobut Abderrazak Hamdallah He returned to a clean sheet when he made it 1-1 in the first quarter of an hour for the homeowner. With 8′ left to complete the regulation time, Carlos Carvalho It tipped the balance for the visit definitively (2-1).
A few moments after that emotion, the official broadcast captured Gallardo’s face with his right hand on the face, arms crossed waiting for the end in Saudi territory and a gesture of nonconformity about what was taking place on the field. Already at the end, he was focused again with the third goal of Musab Al-Juwayr that settled the lawsuit in injury time.
Marcelo Gallardowhich arrived last November, records a balance of 14 wins, 3 draws and 10 losses at Al Ittihad. Throughout April, he was only able to win twice out of six games (three losses and one tie) and, at a sporting level, he has not been able to meet the season’s objectives with eliminations in the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions Leaguein the Second Round of the Club World Cup and fell in the final of the Saudi Arabia Super Cup against Al Hilal.
Precisely, Neymar’s team, who will miss the Copa América due to a long-term injury, will be his rival in the classic this Tuesday from 3:00 p.m. (Argentine time) for the semifinals of the King’s Cup of Champions. If he wins, he will clash in the definition against Al Nassr either Al Khaleej. That duel could be key for the coach’s future because the score Twitter, @IttiStudiowho follows the news of Al Ittihad, replied to information that put his future in doubt: “Marcelo Gallardo will not continue with Al Ittihad next season”.
However, the journalist Luciana Rubinska He provided details after accessing the environment of the winner of 2 Copa Libertadores with the Millionaire: “There is no chance that Gallardo will leave because he trusts in what he is doing and has a termination clause that is worth millions. On the technical side, it is not a possibility. The question is whether that possibility exists from the club.” Gustavo Yarroch accompanied the information in ESPN: “They don’t plan to leave. The Doll’s will is to continue until 2025″. He has a contract until June 30 of that year.
At a press conference, Gallardo regretted the setback and avoided projecting into the coming weeks: “When we calm down we will analyze the game better and, once the season is over, we will analyze the situation in general”. “I apologize to the fans for the defeat. I understand the great frustration that came from not winning against Al-Shabab. We didn’t do well in the first half and the small details decided the game”, he analyzed.
On the other hand, he spoke about Benzema and specified why another of his figures, N’Golo Kanté, whom he questioned for Tuesday, was not there: “Benzema’s absence is due to muscle inflammation, according to the medical examination. And Kanté’s absence is one of the difficulties we are going through and we must monitor his state of preparation daily to determine whether or not he will participate in the classic.”
After facing the King’s Cup of Champions, Al Ittihad will close the Saudi Pro League schedule against Abha as a visitor, host Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq, visit Al Khaleej, be home to Damac and finish against Al Nassr in Riyadh.
