Hernan Crespo said he is “very confident” Al Ain can claim the Asian Champions League title despite their narrow defeat to Yokohama F Marinos in the first leg on Saturday.
The UAE club, seeking to win the trophy for a second time and first in almost two decades, were defeated 2-1 at Yokohama International Stadium in Japan.
Contesting a fourth Champions League final, Al Ain had taken the lead through Mohammed Abbas’ 12th-minute goal but were pegged back in 72nd minute through Asahi Uenaka’s header and then beaten by Kouta Watanabe deflected effort six minutes from time.
Al Ain, runners-up in 2005 and 2016, will have to win the return at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on May 25, something Crespo said he was convinced they could do – especially given it will most likely be a full house in the Garden City.
Asked how confident he is that Al Ain could still lift the trophy, the Argentine said: “I’m very confident, because we play at home and I know what it means to play at home with our fans. Today was not so easy because the [Marinos] fans shout and support their team, and in two weeks it will be the opposite.
“We need to take advantage of that. We believe we can do it.”
On Saturday, it could have been much better for Al Ain, champions in 2003, who had a second goal disallowed on the half hour. Matias Palacios’ strike was initially given, however, VAR intervened. Replays showed the Argentine midfielder was fractionally offside when he was sent through.
“We lost the first half [of the two-legged final] against a great opponent, who played very well, managed very well the ball," Crespo said. “Maybe in the second half we missed some points in terms of trying to be clinical.
Yokohama 2 Al Ain 1 - in pictures
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Al Ain keeper Khalid Essa shakes hands with the Yokohama F Marinos players at full time in the Japanese side's 2-1 victory in the AFC Champions League final first leg at the Yokohama International Stadium, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo and Yokohama coach Harry Kewell shake hands at full time. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Yokohama manager Harry Kewell. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Soufiane Rahimi of Al Ain battles with Shinnosuke Hatanaka of Yokohama. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Mohammed Abbas of Al Ain celebrates his goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Khalid Al Hashemi, centre, and his Al Ain teammates shake hands with the Yokohama players at full time. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Kota Watanabe of Yokohama celebrates after scoring their winner. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Kota Watanabe of Yokohama, second left, celebrates after scoring their second goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Kota Watanabe of Yokohama celebrates. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Mohammed Abbas of Al Ain celebrates with teammate Soufiane Rahimi after scoring their opening goal against Yokohama F Marinos. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Asahi Uenaka of Yokohama F Marinos heads to score their opening goal. Getty Images -
Asahi Uenaka, right, of Yokohama F Marinos celebrates with teammate Nam Tae-hee after scoring their first goal. Getty Images -
Al Ain's Mohammed Abbas scores Al Ain's first goal. Reuters -
Kaku of Al Ain battles with Nam Tae-hee of Yokohama. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Soufiane Rahimi of Al Ain battles with Eduardo of Yokohama. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo during the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Al Ain fans before the first leg against Yokohama F Marinos. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Matias Palacios of Al Ain scores the team's second goal, only to see his strike later disallowed after a VAR review. Getty Images -
Matias Palacios of Al Ain celebrates after scoring the team's second goal, which was chalked off by VAR. Getty Images -
Ain's Emirati goalkeeper Khalid Eisa punches the ball clear. AFP -
Yokohama F Marinos' Taiki Watanabe and Al Ain's Soufiane Rahimi battle. AP -
Al Ain's Emirati goalkeeper Khalid Essa makes a save. AFP -
Al Ain's Emirati midfielder Mohammed Abbas attempts an overhead kick. AFP -
The teams come on to the pitch before kick-off. Chris Whiteoak / The National
“But it’s good, we need to analyse everything. We have another opportunity next time at home, and I hope it will be different.”
Crespo denied his players looked tired in the second half – he made only one substitution, in the 90th minute – and defended his decision to play once more on the counter-attack.
Soufiane Rahimi, the tournament’s top scorer with 11 goals, played furthest forward, with the Moroccan playing a huge role in Al Ain’s opener and then having another chance in the second half on the break.
“We didn’t build to fight for the Champions League and [not] play in that way with our priorities, and we reached this final,” Crespo said. “And our idea is to keep going in that way.
“Sometimes when you face a team that manage the ball very well, and congrats to them because they didn’t allow us to play better. They didn’t concede a lot. But, even like this, we had a few chances to score.”
Meanwhile, Marinos manager Harry Kewell, who has guided the J1 League club to their first Champions League final, said: "I give my players credit, they worked hard all game. They drove Al Ain into the ground with their passing and movement.
“We couldn't get that goal at the start, but we kept our discipline and commitment, and we got our reward in the end. I'm happy at this moment, but I know in this game it can be taken away from you so quickly.
"We have to understand that there is another 90 minutes to play and it's going to be very difficult. [The players] can enjoy the moment but there's still a long way to go in this tie."
