Ganso praises Fluminense’s effort and hails Fábio: “Phenomenon” | OneFootball

Maestro scores goal from the penalty spot, knocks out the rival, and stamps Tricolor’s passport to the big State Championship final; Goalkeeper had stopped a free kick from the spot moments earlier

Paulo Henrique Ganso took center stage and sealed Fluminense’s passage to the grand final of the Campeonato Carioca, right after the dramatic draw against their cross-town rivals at Maracanã. The talented midfielder, brought on in the second half, converted a penalty in the 43rd minute of the final half, helping secure the team’s qualification. The classic match, by the way, saw three infractions inside the box during regular time. After the match ended, the number 10 highlighted the dedication of the green, white, and garnet squad in their relentless pursuit of the necessary result.

— It’s not easy to take a penalty, especially in a derby like this, but I kept my cool there. Léo was very confident (Léo Jardim, Vasco’s goalkeeper), but the important thing is that I managed to score the goal, tie the game, and guarantee our qualification. I think our effort in the first match paid off, as we played with one man down for so long during the game. We believed until the end that we could tie the match.

The Tricolor maestro also made a point of highlighting the performance of Fábio, Fluminense’s goalkeeper, who saved the penalty taken by Brenner. At that moment in the game, Vasco was leading and had the chance to increase their advantage, but the striker ran into the imposing Tricolor wall.

— Fábio is a phenomenon, there’s no explanation for what he does, and I can only be grateful. The opportunity to be with him day in and day out, experiencing all this, I hope now we can go after the title. I mentioned before the game that Vasco’s team is a well-coached team, even though Fernando just left. But they continue with the work that’s been going on for a long time — he praised.

The next and final obstacle for the Laranjeiras Club on their journey towards the trophy will come from the clash between Flamengo and Madureira, scheduled to be played this Monday (2).

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