Head coach Manolo Marquez voices pride at FC Goa's admirable effort in Al-Nassr loss

Brison Fernandes became the first Indian to score in the AFC Champions League Two.

FC Goa suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Al-Nassr in their 2025-26 AFC Champions League Two clash against Al-Nassr at the Fatorda Stadium, Goa, on Wednesday (22 October 2025).

Despite going 2-0 behind in the first half hour through Angelo Gabriel and Hamarou Camara’s goals, the Gaurs showed a lot of fight, and Brison Fernandes also scored in the first half.

Marquez proud of FC Goa players performance against Al-Nassr

Despite seeing his side suffer a loss, Manolo Marquez voiced his admiration for the effort his players gave, and he stated: “I’m really proud of the effort of my players, especially because we had a bad start to the game, and not only us, but there was a mistake in the first goal from our players. “

“They were better in some minutes, but I feel with the goal we scored with Brison – we played a good game after that. The only thing we can do is to congratulate the players and their hard work, which was very good tonight.”

Indian players performance

When asked about how he felt with he effort shown by the Indian players against such a tough opposition, the ex-India gaffer claimed: “It was a very good performance from the Indian players. I’m not surprised as I have known most of them for the last 2-3 seasons. Even for Boris, miss was a good action, the players on the right wing – every Indian player played really well.”

“The Indian players put their best into the game, and all players – Brison proved that he’s a top talent in India for sure. All the players were very good and Ronny (the centre-back) will be very good in the future. I’m very proud of the entire team, and definitely of the Indian players,” he also added.

Also Read: FC Goa 1-2 Al Nassr AFC Champions League 2 Highlights

How can FC Goa keep attracting big crowds and defensive showing

Manolo was questioned on how FC Goa can consistently keep attracting big crowds at the Fatorda Stadium after a major turnout in the Al-Nassr clash.

He explained: “The crowds will be big if the team performs well and we fight for big things. The important thing is to qualify for Asian competition and play in games like these. When you start playing football, you want to play this kind of game with this big crowd in the stands. Now we might come back to reality of Indian football, but the only thing we can do going forward is to forget the past and go for the next step.”

When asked if this performance will help the Gaurs become a more respected defensive unit, the Spaniard stated: “Usually, this kind of performance is very good and we’ll become stronger going forward. On the other side, when you lose the games you play very good and even have some injuries, as we lost some important players for the Super Cup – that is a pity. Obviously, now the squad is not just 11 players. The guys from 12 to 20 must show that I was wrong in my former lineups.”

Also Read: AFC Champions League Two Points Table: Updated Standings after FC Goa’s 2-1 defeat against Al Nassr

Praise for Brison Fernandes

Finally, Marquez voiced his delight for Brison Fernandes scoring a goal and hailed his effort, quipping: “I know Brison, as a player and a person, he is fantastic and a top guy. You will remember that in a press conference two years ago, I said that Brison is the best Indian player I coached but he doesn’t play.

“Now he’s a top professional, and he’s playing with small injury problems, but he keeps going. I didn’t want to lose him and have him available for the Super Cup,” he finished off with.

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