Al-Ahli coach hails 4-1 win over Al-Khaleej as Gomes criticizes refereeing

Al-Ahli coach Marin Pusic hailed his team's 4-1 victory over Al-Khaleej, while Al-Khaleej's Jose Gomes blamed poor focus and refereeing decisions for the defeat. The match, part of the 11th round of the Saudi Pro League, took place at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on a Friday night. Pusic praised Al-Ahli's strong start in the first half, stating they kept possession well and aimed to score multiple goals, including giving an academy player a chance to play.

He mentioned that training loads, fixture congestion, and challenging weather conditions also influenced the game. Al-Khaleej's Gomes disagreed, noting both teams had a lackluster first half, but Al-Khaleej improved in the second half before losing focus after conceding the second goal. Gomes also voiced his disagreement with certain refereeing calls, claiming Al-Ahli's first goal was offside and the penalty scored by Ivan Toney should not have been awarded.

Despite the loss, Gomes expressed satisfaction with Al-Khaleej's progress as they build a new squad, acknowledging they've lost some matches they deserved to win.