Ceni hails Bahia rout, urges caution for Copa do Brasil return leg | OneFootball

Bahia trounced Confiança-SE 4-1, on Wednesday night, at the Batistão Arena, in Aracaju, in the first leg of the Copa do Nordeste final. Coach Rogério Ceni praised the team's performance, but preached caution for the return match.

“We played a good game. In the first half, while they had two nines on the field, we had an easier time playing and could have done more. But I'm happy because everyone performed. We have been preparing the players for this final, specifically for today's game. They responded, but there is still the second game, and in football we always respect what the field says. The advantage is good, considerable. We hope to confirm the title in Salvador on Saturday,” said Ceni, in a press conference after the game.

Luciano Rodríguez, William José, Rodrigo Nestor, and Rezende scored the goals of the rout. Three of the four goals came from set pieces, an aspect that, according to Rogério, is worked on weekly.

“It's an aspect trained week by week, because we face all kinds of opponents and we try, obviously we didn't achieve such a good performance in set pieces in the last games, but Charles (assistant) always works these offensive balls with them. Today we were lucky, in two corners, to score goals. It's something that doesn't always yield results,” he pointed out.

Ceni fielded a mixed team, with the presence of some players from Bahia's U-20 team. The coach, however, revealed that the priority is to field the main team for the return.

“We'll analyze. The U-20 has an important game on Friday. The priority is obviously the professional team and to achieve good development, rest and training for those who don't start the game,” he commented.

When is the return?

The decisive match between Bahia and Confiança is scheduled for this Saturday, at the Fonte Nova Arena, in Salvador. The ball rolls from 17:30 (Brasília time).

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