Artur Jorge rues Cruzeiro exit and early errors: “We weren’t ourselves”

In partnership with

Deus me Dibre

·20 August 2026

Artur Jorge rues Cruzeiro exit and early errors: “We weren’t ourselves”

Cruzeiro’s elimination from the Copa Libertadores was met with frustration by Artur Jorge. After the 2-1 defeat to Flamengo this Wednesday (19) at the Maracanã, the Cruzeiro coach acknowledged that the team struggled to compete in the first half, reacted after the break, but ended up conceding the second goal precisely when it was enjoying its best spell in the match.

With the result, Cruzeiro ended its Libertadores campaign in the round of 16. In the first meeting, at Mineirão, the teams had drawn 1-1. In Artur Jorge’s assessment, the below-par performance in the opening half was decisive in the outcome.

OneFootball Videos

“It’s a tough moment for all of us. Especially for us and our fans. We live on illusions and on what we dream of. Today our journey in the competition really came to an end, and we have to look at what the match was. I agree that in the first half we were not ourselves. We were a team that ended up, first of all because of Flamengo’s merit, having some difficulties winning the first and second ball, losing duels. We couldn’t press because of the distance we kept from our opponents. We tried to correct that at halftime to be effective, and I think we were closer to what we have been, and at the moment when we were on top we conceded the second goal, which ended up dictating the final result,” said the coach.

Artur Jorge explains halftime changes

Cruzeiro came back for the second half with a different approach. Right at the start, the team managed to put Flamengo under pressure and equalized through Lucas Romero with a shot from outside the box. At that moment, Raposa began to control the action more and created opportunities to turn the tie around.

For Artur Jorge, the change did not come from individually demanding more from the players, but from positional adjustments and collective behavior.

“It wasn’t an issue with the players because they gave everything they had. It was more a matter of positional and behavioral adjustments. For the second half, what we did above all was have our wing-backs closer to the opposing center-backs so we could press and have a greater ability to be more vertical with the ball and after winning those duels that we didn’t win in the first half. We had some chances after the goal to create more, but we ended up conceding the second goal in our best moment, which left Flamengo more comfortable and took us out of our comfort zone.”

Flamengo’s second goal came in the 16th minute of the second half through Samuel Lino. The forward received the ball inside the box and finished to put Flamengo back in front. After that, Cruzeiro again tried to find an equalizer, but struggled to turn the pressure into clear chances.

Coach calls for balance after elimination

Despite being knocked out of the Libertadores, Artur Jorge avoided projecting a negative scenario for Cruzeiro going forward. The Portuguese coach highlighted the need to maintain emotional balance after a defeat and pointed out that the team still has other important competitions ahead.

“We have to be balanced. We don’t get euphoric when we win or depressed when we lose. That’s part of the game; we had two possible outcomes today. We have to take the best from this match to continue the work. It’s a knockout tie, it’s a competition that is now behind us, but we still have a lot ahead of us. These moments are part of what is a long season, as it is in Brazil.”

Cruzeiro will have little time to absorb the elimination. On Saturday (22), the team faces Flamengo again, this time in the Brazilian Championship, in a match scheduled for Mineirão. In addition to the national league, Raposa is also still alive in the Copa do Brasil, where it will face Atlético-MG in the quarterfinals.

Artur Jorge looks ahead to Cruzeiro’s response

Speaking about the rest of the season, the coach stressed that the squad will have to turn the frustration of elimination into motivation for the upcoming challenges. Artur Jorge described the exit as just another obstacle in a long and demanding season.

“Our lives are made up of great challenges. Together with my players, I have tried to overcome many of the ones we have had so far. We will also have the ability to overcome this elimination so that we can look at what remains of the season and be prepared in the best way to respond in the league and in the Copa do Brasil.”

With its Libertadores run over, Cruzeiro now focuses its efforts on the two domestic competitions. The first response could come as soon as this Saturday, once again against Flamengo, in Belo Horizonte.

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