Coach Filipe Luís praises the characteristics of Leonardo Jardim’s Cruzeiro in Flamengo’s 2-1 defeat at Mineirão,
Coach Filipe Luís acknowledged Cruzeiro‘s good performance in Flamengo’s 2-1 defeat this Sunday (4/5) at Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte, in the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship. The red-and-black commander assessed and listed the difficulties imposed by the team coached by Leonardo Jardim and, despite the negative result, considered the match balanced. Cruzeiro opened the scoring with Kaio Jorge, 15 minutes into the first half. Flamengo tied the game with Arrascaeta, 44 minutes into the first half. In the second half’s injury time, Gabigol had a penalty saved by Rossi, but secured the victory for Celeste on the rebound: 2-1.
“It was a very difficult game against a very well-trained opponent. We have to give credit to their victory. They played a very good tactical game and managed to block our style of play. We had difficulty creating chances, but even so, it was a very even game and we had our chances to turn it around,” Filipe Luís began in a press conference at Mineirão. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen and they scored the penalty goal at the end of the game. A defeat that hurts a lot, I think it was my first as a visitor, but we learned lessons from this defeat to continue growing and evolving,” he added.
“In the first half, we were playing well, breaking through Cruzeiro’s pressure. As I said, they are a very well-coached team, and we have to give credit to what our opponents did. They came out to press hard and managed to block our ball out very well. Even so, we managed to get out several times, but we didn’t score. Losing the ball is Cruzeiro’s biggest danger. The way they play is to force you into mistakes in order to counterattack,” assessed the coach.
