Al-Ittihad beat Al-Diriyah 2-0 at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah on Friday in the 11th round of fixtures. After the match, head coach Jens Wissing explained why Richard Rios had been used at centre-back, with the win lifting Al-Ittihad to 23 points and fourth in the Saudi League table.
Rios moved into defence
Rios played at centre-back during the match. He dropped into that role in the second half after Wissing withdrew Saad Al-Mousa at the break and sent on Dion Lopy.
Why Al-Mousa was taken off
Speaking at the post-match press conference, as reported by the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat", the German said: "Saad Al-Mousa has just returned from a very long injury, and he took part and played brilliantly, but I was forced to change him because of the yellow card, and I did not want to risk him."
Wissing's explanation for the switch
The German coach said: "The fact that Richard Rios played as a centre-back is not a lack of trust in the young players, but it was a sensitive time, and this does not mean that I will always rely on him, but I have to find solutions."
He explained: "We have several options in the number 6 position, such as Mukhtar Ali, (Dion) Lopy, Richard (Rios), Mohammed Fallatah, and even Ahmed Al-Ghamdi plays in this position because he is an intelligent player."
His view of the match
Pressed on whether his defence is struggling without the injured Hassan Kadesh, the German coach hit back: "Al-Diriyah did not threaten us at any moment in today's match."
On the game itself, he said: "I am happy with the performance, the result and the win. A deserved victory on our ground, a clash with a special character in terms of the schedule and the lack of time."