Jardim cites Gabigol, highlights Flamengo’s Libertadores challenge | OneFootball

Poor performance and the pitch — We didn’t play our best game. There were some duels we should have won and didn’t. Technically, it wasn’t a pretty match. I keep coming back to this, but the pitch didn’t help us. Erick (Pulgar) had to take five touches just to get the ball under control and start playing. — A good pitch helps us because we’re a technical team that likes quality in our passing. Normally we have more possession than our opponents. And under pressure, against a team that often defends with almost two lines of five and really closes down the central area, any deflection or poor first touch creates problems for us. In terms of strategy, we knew that in the first half they would try to press us because they needed a goal. And they ended up scoring from a transition play. As I said, we made some small mistakes, not only technically but also in the duels. Arrasca x Paquetá — They took advantage of that transition and made it 1-0. Our strategy was to start the game strongly, press, and try to get ahead on the scoreboard. When they pressed us higher up, we wanted to have a quick player up front, which has been our habit in the Libertadores, and that is Bruno. We even ended up with the best chance of the first half, with a player one-on-one to score and put the result in our favor, but we couldn’t finish it. In the second half, with the game slower, we took a chance on Arrasca and switched him with Paquetá because we knew that, with a lower block and their fatigue, Arrasca’s quality could be important. — That had already happened in the first game: they pressed a lot in the first part and got tired in the second. We wanted to take advantage of Arrasca’s quality in the second half. And there’s also the management of the other players, because in not even 72 hours we have another game. We have players who won’t play in the next match: Lino, Erick and Paquetá. That’s why we used those three as much as possible today, because in three days they won’t be able to help us. We have to get back to having a fresh team, because we’re going to play again for the top spot in the league. — Arrasca was going to give us more control of the ball. After things happen, it’s easy to be a coach (laughs). I was happy to have Arrasca there to decide things in the second half. We have games every three days. I’ve already said he is the exceptional player on this team, but he gets worn down because of the intensity. Sometimes I have to manage the squad to get the best Arrasca. We kept Arrasca as a false 9 (after Jorginho was sent off), and we equalized. Team mistakes — Duels we didn’t win, loose balls, second balls, and they broke in transition. I believe we could have done better in those duels. As for the technical side, we certainly could have done better too. But then there’s the condition of the pitch, which doesn’t help. Playing on the counterattack is easy, because you just put it ahead and run… but circulating the ball, linking up, and making short passes — the pitch has to help. And Flamengo is a team that needs that. It’s no coincidence that when we play on good pitches, our players’ technical quality shows up more often. Substitutions — I preferred bringing on Saúl and Plata to close the triangle in the channel. If they got through, it was better to allow the cross. I didn’t see aggressive players in the box area. They were short strikers and wingers. If we were well positioned, we had to win those balls. Royal is tall, Ayrton is tall, and both center backs are too. I preferred not to allow balls over the top or diagonal runs, because they make a lot more diagonal runs than crosses. Only in the last five minutes did they throw the center backs into attack. But by then we were always threatening in transition up front, going back and forth, and the game ended. Would he have started with Pedro and Arrascaeta if he had known how the game would go — With Pedro, no. But maybe I would have started with Arrasca, because I think he would have given us a bit more of the ball in that situation. But as I said, after the fact it’s easy to be a coach, after things happen. I was also pleased because, at that moment, I had Arrasca to decide the game in the second half, which was my initial idea: a fresher player. And he is a player who would hardly be able to play this game and Sunday’s game, two games in three days. As I’ve said before, Arrasca is an exceptional player for this team, but he is a player who picks up some fatigue because of the way he plays. — I also can’t play him 90 minutes and then another 90 minutes because then he’ll get injured or won’t have intensity. You watch some games and say, “Oh, the substitution was late.” I even saw some things after the last game: “The substitution was late, Arrasca was already tired,” and so on. And I only took him off in the 75th, 80th minute, I don’t even remember. But people were already saying he was tired. So sometimes I have to manage that to get the best Arrasca and have him help the team, like he did today. Strategically, that’s the whole idea of the strategy. We played there with Arrasca as a false nine. Ayrton Lucas — The goal was preventable because we lost the first duel, and in the second duel Ayrton gets his body on the player, but then the ball gets away from him. It wasn’t really a mistake, just an unfortunate moment. It was more about the technique of the play. Ayrton has been a very committed player; it’s no surprise he was called up to the national team years ago. He’s a player we value. I don’t judge players by their names. — He’s a guy who has given his all for Flamengo. Only I am there on the inside and see how much effort he puts in. I’m happy with how things are going for him. Last week, at altitude, he cleared two important balls at the far post. Today he slipped. It happens to the best. I can’t say it was a mistake. We were fortunate with Arrasca’s goal and unfortunate with Ayrton’s. Did the team relax with the lead? — My work during the week was to talk to the players about that. I explained that in my life I’ve never had easy games. What makes a game easy is the players. There are no results before kickoff. If we let our guard down, we give the opponent an advantage. I explained that and that we would have to go and get a goal. We conceded in a situation we could have dealt with differently. — It’s understanding that football is decided in every possible way and not taking your foot off the gas. It’s being 2-0 up and not letting the opponent react. That’s why it’s important to always have rested players so you have energy. Mentality, technical quality, and mentality. Nowadays everyone receives outside information. If a person doesn’t have a very solid head on their shoulders, they won’t impose themselves.

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