PLDC - Buriram, Alejandro Mendez Garcia said, "Estehglal won because of their experience and professionalism."

After his team's 2-1 loss at home against the two-time Asian champions (Esteghlal), Garcia said, "We played well in the first half. We played well defensively and offensively. Our offensive line powerful and we were able to score in the first half, and had more opportunities."

He continued, "They scored very early in the second half, and this caused us to lose focus. From there on, we were very emotional and lacked organization. We had really prepared ourselves for this match and studied Esteghlal. We gave it our all, but ultimately did not reach victory. Their first goal really destroyed our momentum."

The Buriram United coach claimed, "Overall, we were better, but our lack of experience at this level caused us to be over-exited and lose the match. They weren't worthy of a win, and didn't deserve to go to the next stage. Esteghlal knows how to slow the game down and their professionalism won the game for them. Overall, we were better, but they are experienced and knew how to play."

By: Arman Tamjidi