Abel Ferreira hints at Libertadores final: "There's an asterisk" | OneFootball

Abel Ferreira commented on the Libertadores final against Palmeiras

The defeat to Flamengo in the final of the Copa Libertadores still hurts Palmeiras and coach Abel Ferreira. This Wednesday (03), the Portuguese coach spoke about the matter and mentioned that the decision will have an ‘asterisk’. That’s because, according to him, Mengo was helped.

— To be very honest, we are frustrated, disappointed… Because more than anything, we lost to ourselves. When you have the opportunity to challenge a rival like we did and you lose to yourself, when it’s not your best version in a game that was so important to us, it creates frustration in our team — Abel Ferreira began.

— Regardless of the incidents that happened in the game, there’s an asterisk on the game, there’s an asterisk. Scars remain, it’s natural that one or another player is still bleeding, but we know that this team is capable of reinventing itself, it’s resilient, and that’s what we’re going to try to do — he concluded, before the match against Atlético-MG.

WHAT’S THE CONTEXT OF ABEL FERREIRA’S TEARS?

In a midfield challenge with Arrascaeta, Palmeiras defender Bruno Fuchs fell to the ground. Soon after, the player got up and went into a challenge with midfielder Erick Pulgar, who ended up hitting the opponent. However, VAR reviewed the play and determined it was not worthy of a sending off.

However, a similar play happened against Flamengo in the first half. That’s because Raphael Veiga hit Jorge Carrascal in the same way as Erick Pulgar. Following the same criteria, referee Darío Herrera did not show a yellow card and let the game continue.

ANOTHER RUNNER-UP FINISH FOR PALMEIRAS TO FLAMENGO?

The situation for Palmeiras could get even worse. This Wednesday (03), Flamengo faces Ceará at Maracanã. Therefore, if they win, the red-and-black team will become champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro, while Palmeiras will suffer yet another runner-up finish this season.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.