AFC Champions League: Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi pleased with win over Al Jazira

Lekhwiya beat Al Jazira 3-1 at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in the fifth round of fixtures in the AFC Champions League group stage.

The result confirmed the UAE side's elimination from the competition as they remain rooted to the bottom of Group B while Lekhwiya have sealed their progress to the knock-out stage.

The Qatari side's head coach Djamel Belmadi was delighted with the result and his team's qualification for the next round.

"I expected it to be difficult especially since Al Jazira played without pressure and their coach gave the young players who wanted to prove themselves an opportunity." 

"We did not perform well in the first half, and in the second half we were different and succeded in scoring two goals and achieving victory."

Belmadi admitted that qualifying for the next round was not easy and that the likes of Al Fateh and Esteghlal Khuzestan offered strong competition. He pointed out that the victory against Al Jazira at home wasn't easy either.

"We want to go as far as we can in the tournament."