Al Ahly head coach Marcel Koller has defended his lineup choices after his side’s 2-1 defeat to rivals Zamalek in the Cairo derby.
The champions were condemned to their second defeat in their last four Egyptian Premier League games this season when they faced Zamalek on Monday evening.
Despite Ahmed Abdelkader’s second-half equaliser for Al Ahly, Seifeddine Jaziri’s brace was enough to give Zamalek the win and the three points.
Marcel Koller was heavily criticised by fans and pundits due to his lineup selection before the game but the Swiss manager believes he approached the game with the right tactics.
“We didn’t start the game with the wrong formation,” Koller said after the game. “If I make early substitutions, you complain and if I make late ones, you also complain.
“I think we were in control for the first 25 minutes, then we allowed Zamalek to get back in the game because of naive mistakes.
“We conceded a goal at the end of the first half and in the second were the better side but Zamalek scored the winning goal from an unorganised move,” he added.
