Palmeiras coach, Abel Ferreira, recognized Flamengo’s superiority in the Copa Libertadores final this Saturday (29), but also made a point of ironizing the refereeing for not sending off red-and-black midfielder Erick Pulgar after a harsh tackle on defender Bruno Fuchs.
In a game at Monumental de Lima, in Peru, Flamengo won 1-0, with a goal from Danilo, and became the first Brazilian club to win four-time continental champions.
“I’m not going to justify much, just say that our opponent was better, more experienced, knew how to deal with this moment of tension, at the end. I honestly think that experience won over irreverence, they were better. Although the game was decided in detail, the opponent was better than Palmeiras”, said Abel after the match.
He added that the Palmeiras players lacked “boldness and courage”, especially after Flamengo’s goal.
“Despite having a young team, we lacked a little courage and boldness. I think that’s what we lacked. More than giving justifications, I need to say that our opponent was better, tougher, despite the game being defined by a set piece”, said the Portuguese coach.
The alviverde coach also commented on the play in which Chilean midfielder Erick Pulgar entered with the sole of his boot on defender Bruno Fuchs’ shin, when the game was already stopped due to a foul on Arrascaeta. Argentine referee Darío Herrera only warned the Flamengo player with a yellow card. According to the coach, the referee was “friendly”.
“I think the referee was very nice, he didn’t want to ruin the final”, said Abel. “It’s a well-trained team, very aggressive, even too aggressive. And that’s it, the referee was friendly in this game, in my opinion”, added the coach.
