Upset by loss of the Copa do Brasil titleGabriel Milito, coach of Atlético-MG, lamented the defeat to Flamengo, at Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte, this Sunday afternoon (10). In the post-game press conference, the Argentinean evaluated the strategy outlined by the technical committee in an attempt to turn things around in the grand final.
According to Milito, Atlético had good chances to open the scoring in the first half, but it was not effective. Faced with the need to win by three goals, Galo returned from the break with Alan Kardec, scorer of the black and white goal at Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, to try to disturb the aerial ball.
“We needed to try to break Flamengo’s defense. We tried outside and inside, we generated many intersections that we didn’t connect. That’s why we added a center forward in the second half like Kardec to take advantage of Arana and Scarpa’s depth, to have good crosses. Then, try to take control of the match one-on-one,” he began.
Afterwards, Milito said that, as he was comfortable with the aggregate score, Flamengo started to attack Atlético in counterattacks. In several moves, Everson prevented goals from Rubro-Negro, which did not happen in the 38th minute of the final stage, with Gonzalo Plata. From coverage, the Ecuadorian played over the goalkeeper.
“It’s not easy to play one-on-one against this team, against the quality of their players. I think the team did this well in the first half, but in the second, we suffered setbacks, especially when they started playing in a 5-3-2 formation. Bruno Henrique is very fast. Silver too. We suffered counterattacks, but that was the game plan. We needed to discount and then try one more”, added Milito.
Praise for Atlético-MG’s stance
Despite losing the title, Milito took advantage of the press conference to highlight this and signaled that this commitment could be fundamental to winning the Copa Libertadores, against Botafogo, in Buenos Aires.
“We found a defensive structure that made it impossible for us [fazer gols]. We had situations in the first half. There weren’t many, but we had them. In the second half, with time passing, we took more risks and that meant defending in the rival field, with fast players and one-on-one”, he pondered.
“It is more difficult to attack with the defense closed. I value all the team’s effort, the team’s courage. In addition to the defeat, with the value that defeat means, I am very proud of the players for the way they competed. They always tried. For me, this is very important for what comes next”, concluded the Galo coach.
Reunion with Flamengo
Interestingly, Atlético-MG will return to the field against ; this time, for the Brazilian Championship. The teams will face each other on Wednesday (13), at 8 pm (Brasília time), at Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, for the 34th round.
