Filipe Luís blames Flamengo’s poor Intercontinental display vs Cruz Azul | OneFootball

Flamengo defeated Cruz Azul (MEX) 2-1 in the first match of the 2025 Intercontinental

Some players from Flamengo faced difficulties in the first half of the victory against Cruz Azul (MEX) this Wednesday (10). However, Filipe Luís stated that the problem had nothing to do with the pitch at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar, nor with the season's fatigue, but there is a need to adapt to the ball.

— The training center's pitch is a bit different from the stadium's. This one is similar to the field of Corinthians and Internacional. It's one of the best in Brazil and the world. It's more about the ball. I felt it slips a bit. We will try to do some work so that the players adapt faster to this situation -, highlighted the coach who adds:

— Because the ball in the Libertadores is also different from the Brazilian one. And the players end up adapting as they get more minutes with the object. But it's no excuse. We have to adapt to this situation. It's about seeing what we did wrong, correcting it, and I have no doubt that the players will feel better in the next game -, stated Filipe Luís.

What is the context of Flamengo's mistakes?

In the first half of the match, the Mexicans had 54% ball possession, which is rare in a Flamengo game. This is because the red-blacks completed only 194 of the 231 passes exchanged.

With Flamengo more adapted to the pitch and calmer, the Most Beloved had 56% possession. The athletes of the Most Beloved completed 215 of the 242 passes exchanged in the second half. The data is from the Sofascore website.

Were the players tired?

Despite more than 70 games in the season, Filipe Luís stated that the team was physically well. Arrascaeta scored both goals for Flamengo, while Sanchez scored for Cruz Azul (MEX).

What is Flamengo's next match in the Intercontinental?

The match between Flamengo and Pyramids (EGY) takes place this Saturday (13), for the Intercontinental semifinal. Like the first, the second match is scheduled to start at 2 PM (Brasília time), at Al Rayyan Stadium, in Doha, Qatar.

As tradition dictates, Coluna do Fla will bring all the details of the match through YouTube, the website, and social media. However, Globo (open channel), GE TV (YouTube) and Cazé TV (YouTube) will broadcast the game.

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