Gabigol rejects boos after Santos draw: “I set up the goal” | OneFootball

Tensions ran high between Gabigol and some Santos fans, who booed him when he was substituted in the 1-1 draw with Deportivo Recoleta in the second round of the Copa Sudamericana. Santos’ No. 9 said he disagreed with the boos he received.

Gabigol reviewed the match and emphasized his role in Santos’ goal, three minutes into the first half. The striker got the ball on a counterattack, broke into the box and set up Neymar to open the scoring. Peixe, however, conceded the equalizer and went into halftime with the score at 1-1.

“I don’t agree with the boos. I made the play for the goal, once again, like in the last game. I think in the end, the fans, as I said, got the idea that it was going to be a rout, that it was going to be an easy game, and maybe they didn’t understand that the match was difficult. Difficult, it was a complicated moment, but as I said, it’s all in the heat of the moment. I think we deserved the win, we did enough to deserve it, but the win didn’t come. We need to improve in the next match,” he said after the game.

The Santos striker lamented the chances the team missed throughout the match. The stats show Santos had 17 shots against just one from Recoleta. Gabigol criticized the expectation created before the game that Santos could rout the Paraguayan side.

“I think it’s something that shouldn’t have been treated that way; we have to respect every team. I think an atmosphere was created, not here inside the locker room, but among the fans, that it was going to be a rout. But every game is complicated, every game is difficult, there are no easy matches in football anymore. So, of course we needed the win, we did enough to deserve it, but the win didn’t come,” he said.

In the end, the fans booed the team after the final whistle, in addition to chanting protest slogans against the squad and members of the board, such as president Marcelo Teixeira.

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Santos’ situation

With the draw, Santos are still without a win in the Copa Sudamericana and remain bottom of Group D, with only one point. Recoleta, meanwhile, are in second place with two points, one behind Deportivo Cuenca, who play San Lorenzo in this round on Thursday.

Now, Peixe turn their focus back to the Brazilian Championship, where they sit in 15th place.

Santos’ next match

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