Al Duhail defeated Persepolis 2-1 in Group E of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
For Qatar's Al Duhail, the win was a balm after a difficult campaign which saw the team unable to build on last season's AFC Champions League semi-final appearance.
“As I said Monday, it is true that we were eliminated, but we must respect the competition. I told my players to play with confidence,” the French coach said.
“The atmosphere in the stadium was wonderful. It is hard for Persepolis and the fans that they could not get a result,” he added.
“I didn't start with players like (Michael) Olunga because we were eliminated and it was a good opportunity to give the younger players a chance and time. In addition, we had lost the previous game (to Persepolis) at home. We had some injuries. All these factors worked together to make this happen,” concluded Gaultier.