Filipe Luís: Flamengo win over Cruz Azul like 2019 Club World Cup | OneFootball

In their debut at the 2025 Intercontinental Championship, Filipe Luís led Flamengo to a 2-1 victory over Cruz Azul from Mexico in the Americas Derby. Both goals for Flamengo were scored by Arrascaeta.

Match analysis and comparison with the 2019 Club World Cup

During the post-match press conference, Filipe analyzed the opponent and Flamengo’s performance, noting that the team played a stronger second half than the first. The coach also compared the match to the 2019 Club World Cup, when the club faced Al-Hilal in the semifinal and won 3-1.

“It’s a team with a lot of quality. Both teams have a very similar approach. They took more risks, to the point of giving us, in quotes, a goal, because of the excessive risk they took when playing out from the back. Our team struggled. Both teams are used to playing and dictating the game with the ball at their feet. We made some adjustments and from there we found ourselves in a situation where we felt comfortable,” said the coach.

“In the second half, we dominated the game, made them chase the ball, and deservedly got the goal. It reminded me of 2019, that match against Al-Hilal. A very tough first half and then a very good second half,” he added.

Adaptation difficulties with the pitch and ball

Regarding adaptation difficulties, Flamengo’s coach commented on the pitch and the ball used in the tournament, stating that the squad will need to adjust to minimize mistakes.

“Every game is different. The players are adapting to the pitch, which is very fast, and the ball, which is very smooth and slips a lot. We’re seeing several simple mistakes in control and passing that the players don’t usually make. This pitch is similar to the ones at Corinthians and Beira-Rio, the best pitches in Brazil. This pitch here is European. But I feel (the problem) is more with the ball. We’ll try to do training sessions so the players can adapt more quickly to this situation,” he said.

Next match

Now, Flamengo is preparing to face Pyramids this Saturday at 2 p.m. (Brasília time) in Doha, who beat Al-Ahli 3-1 in September.

“Normally I start studying the opponent from tomorrow, specifically talking about Pyramids. But for a team to beat Al-Ahli 3-1, it means they are a strong team. I’ve already asked my analysts for information and they told me it’s a team with a very strong attacking power. So, we have no doubt that to be a semifinalist in the Intercontinental, you have to be a very strong team,” said Filipe Luís.

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