Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard believes his side have work to do following their draw with Al-Khaleej on Thursday.
Gerrard’s side had a flying start to their Saudi Pro League campaign earning consecutive wins over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Al-Hazm.
However, they couldn’t maintain their winning run on Thursday as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 stalemate against Al-Khaleej.
An early strike by Al-Khaleej forward Fabio Martins stunned Al-Ettifaq before Brazil’s Vitinho levelled the scoring after the break.
“We didn’t play well in the first half and conceded a goal that made the game much harder for us than it already was,” Gerrard said after the game.
“In the second half, we were better and the substitutions helped us control the game. We created chances and got the equaliser.
“Their goalkeeper saved a number of good chances and had we scored one of them, we would’ve now had three points instead of just one.
“But I am happy about our performance in the second half and hopefully we can build on that,” he added.
Al-Ettifaq are set to play Al-Hilal in their upcoming league game on Monday, and Gerrard urged his players to show their killer instinct.
Al-Hilal are currently the biggest spenders in the league with nearly £300 million, signing Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Malcom, Rúben Neves, Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and most recently, Morocco’s shot-stopper Yassine Bounou.
“I respect Al-Hilal, but I believe our performance will determine the outcome of the game. We want to get points from Riyadh,” the Englishman added.