Gallardo targets Palmeiras after River stumble in Tucumán | OneFootball

Marcelo Gallardo spoke in great detail after the defeat against Atlético Tucumán about River's plan for the return of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals against Palmeiras, a duel at the Allianz Parque in São Paulo, where his team arrives with the obligation to win to stay alive.

Thinking about Verdao, the Doll saved many players and regretted the few responses he found from these variants, who could not prevent the 2-0 defeat against the Dean: "This game was precisely between the Palmeiras series, it was a good test for those who were not playing or playing less. We were not good in the game, neither collectively nor individually. We suffered an early goal again and it was not a good game for us at all, difficult to draw good conclusions from today's game", he began.

With his sights set on the imminent challenge on Brazilian soil, Gallardo delved into the need to arrive in the best way for the match: "The message is to have a good mental preparation to play a game that is all to be played. The series was going to be like this, we have to go to win in Brazil, we have no other choice and we have to prepare for that".

"The players who are physically and mentally fresh will have the opportunity to turn around a game that we are going to play in a decisive way, because we have no other way to do it. We have to think that it is possible, there is a difference of only one goal and we have to play it that way", the Doll indicated.

However, Gallardo focused on the need to think of the challenge as something positive and not as a burden: "The game is still a beautiful challenge to face it that way. It's a great opportunity, that in the face of adversity, to achieve something that seems impossible but -in my way of thinking- we are going to prepare it with the energy we have to turn the result around and win the game in Brazil. As a challenge and a nice alternative that we have, not as a matter of blockage".

"It's a great opportunity. These are series against a team of the same level as yours, which is one of the big favorites to win the Cup. We measure ourselves and, although there is a goal difference, it is not something that I don't think we can achieve. If we play a good game we will have possibilities", he concluded.

River will face a Palmeiras on Wednesday that arrives in tune and that despite also putting substitutes in the Brasileirao, won 4-1 against Fortaleza de Martín Palermo.

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