Sayed Abdelhafiz, Al Ahly’s director of football, reflected on our 1-0 win over National Bank SC on Sunday night, the preparations for the Cairo Derby match against Zamalek next week, and Mohamed El Shenawy’s condition.  

“We are happy with the three points. It was a difficult game and we put on a better performance in the second half.”

“After Mohamed Sherif’s goal, the opponents pushed forward to level the score, but we stood our ground and prevented them from scoring.”

“Each game is different and there is a different approach for every opponent. Sometimes it is an open game and you score early and sometimes you face more defensive teams.”

“The most important thing is to keep winning in the first games of the season.”

“We will turn our focus now to the next match against Zamalek. It will be a difficult match between the biggest two teams in the continent.” 

"El Shenawy’s return is approaching. He trained with the team before tonight’s game and he could have been included in the squad, but the coaching staff decided to give him more time to recover.”