Felipe Melo questions Pedro: ‘Not irreplaceable’ | OneFootball

Commentator pointed out the striker’s “lack of seriousness” in a play in the 21st minute of the first half, at the Maracanã

Flamengo beat Corinthians 2-1 last Sunday (13), in the 27th round of the Brasileirão. Despite Flamengo’s dominance in the match and Bruno Henrique’s goal to secure the win, Pedro did not escape criticism. Thus, for Felipe Melo, former player and commentator, the forward lacked seriousness at certain moments of the clash.

WHAT DID FELIPE MELO SAY ABOUT PEDRO’S PLAY?

Felipe Melo illustrated the criticism with a play in the 21st minute of the first half, when Pedro missed a chance by trying to finish with his chest. In the commentator’s view, the No. 9 could have finished it with a header.

— There is one player who was called up, and I’ve been talking about him for a long time, and that is Pedro. Ever since I was still playing, I used to say, ‘Pedro is very good, he’s a top-class player.’ I’m a huge fan of Pedro, but I think today he lacked a bit of focus. He had the chance and tried to score with his chest when he could have scored with a header, which would have killed the game. He has scored other beautiful goals like that before, so he lacked a little more seriousness, of going there and killing the game off, of scoring the goal. That’s what Bruno Henrique did -, he said.

— That’s why a few days ago I said Pedro was not irreplaceable. To me, Pedro is a great player, the best No. 9 in the country, but he is not irreplaceable. So much so that you see Bruno Henrique coming onto the field and once again being the hero -, he concluded during the program ‘Fechamento SporTV’.

DID PEDRO ‘OVERDO’ THE PLAY OR WAS HE BUMPED OFF BALANCE?

Despite Felipe Melo’s criticism, close-up images of the play sparked discussion on social media. Some users criticized the carelessness in trying to ‘showboat’ the play. However, others defended the striker. Their argument: a shove or nudge in the back from a defender at the moment of the cross. As a result, the player would have lost the timing needed for a traditional header.

WHAT IS FLAMENGO’S SITUATION IN THE BRASILEIRÃO STANDINGS?

With the win over Corinthians, Flamengo reached 57 points. As a result, the Rio rubro-negro side remained at the top of the Brasileirão, one point ahead of Palmeiras. Therefore, in the next round of the national tournament, the team faces Red Bull Bragantino on Sunday (20), again at the Maracanã, at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time), in the 28th round.

WHEN DOES FLAMENGO PLAY AGAIN?

Before that, however, Flamengo host Independiente del Valle (ECU), from Ecuador, this Thursday (17). The clash is the second leg of the Libertadores quarterfinals, at the Maracanã, at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time). After winning 2-0 in the first leg, the rubro-negro side can even lose by one goal and still advance. However, a tie on aggregate sends the decision to penalties.

Coluna do Fla will provide extensive coverage of the match on three fronts: YouTube, social media, and the website. Thus, reporters Simon Lédo, Rodrigo Lima, and Rock Hudson will be at the Maracanã. In this way, the coverage will bring every detail of the match worth a place in the Libertadores semifinals.

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