Steven Gerrard’s Saudi Arabia tenure took another hit as his team conceded a late equalizer against struggling Al-Hazm.
The former Aston Villa manager, now in charge of Al-Ettifaq, had hoped to break his nine-game winless streak with key players like Jordan Henderson, Demarai Gray, Moussa Dembele, and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Gray put Al-Ettifaq ahead in the 70th minute, raising hopes of a victory, but a last-minute penalty allowed Al-Hazm to snatch two points.
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Despite Al-Hazm’s poor form, they managed to capitalize on a stoppage-time opportunity, leaving Gerrard disappointed.
Before this match, Al-Ettifaq had consistently beaten Al-Hazm since February 2020.
Gerrard, 43, who faced dismissal from Aston Villa last season, is now under scrutiny in Saudi Arabia.
Steven Gerrard after todays draw said: “I can stand it and the team needs to be strengthened in the winter transition period.”
Not the first time that #LFC legend asks for more players for his SPL Team Al Ettifaq
In a recent plea for reinforcements, he stated, “We have already had crucial meetings at Al Ettifaq regarding mid-season updates and the status of each individual and the group.”
“The message, in summary, that we have sent is that we need to be aggressive, we need to be ruthless, and we need to make a lot of changes to make this team more competitive.”
“We are really happy with a lot of individuals, both foreign and some local players.”
“But if you look at us, once Moussa came out of the team, the weaknesses in our team have been highlighted, as have the options we had.”
“We need to show in this window, and also the summer window, that we mean business and we want to be competitive at the top of the league, and not where we are at the moment.”
“It’s a collective effort.”
Up next, Al-Ettifaq will be hosting the tenth-placed Al-Khaleej, followed by an away game against league leaders Al-Hilal, featuring notable players such as Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ruben Neves.
However, the star player Neymar continues to be sidelined with a long-term injury.
