Jardim: Cruzeiro struggling, but a comeback is on the cards | OneFootball

Cruzeiro drew 1-1 with Atlético-MG at Arena MRV in the 28th round of the Brazilian Championship. It was the team's fourth consecutive game without a win in the competition, which led to questions for coach Leonardo Jardim about his team's current technical form.

The coach acknowledges that there has been a drop in performance and reflects on the challenges of maintaining a team at a high level throughout an entire season in Brazil:

“I have felt that it is not easy to keep a team at the highest level throughout an entire season. To keep a team at the highest level, you need to have a structure prepared for that. Players come in, others leave, and there is always rotation. Our structure is not yet ready for that, maybe in the future it will be. There is some fatigue in the team, I have already talked about this, but there is something very good, which is that even playing almost 50 minutes with ten men, we saw the guys running, working, and honoring the shirt. I can't ask for more than that.”

The coach praised the team's attitude, which, according to him, showed commitment and dedication on the field, especially in the defensive phase. Jardim admitted that the team has been struggling with finishing, especially mentioning the previous game against Sport, but emphasized that the attitude and commitment remain intact.

For the coach, maintaining this work mentality is essential for good results to return.

“Everyone chased the ball, many times we played without the ball in the second half and they had this basic principle of defending the club, and in that, they deserve congratulations. It's not just Cruzeiro, all teams have better moments and less effective moments. We are in a moment where finishing, especially—not in this game, but mainly against Sport—we could have finished better. The team is not at its best, but it has attitude, a commitment to work, and if we keep this up, good things will happen.”

With the draw against Atlético-MG, Cruzeiro extended its winless streak in the Brazilian Championship. The team's last victory in the competition was against Red Bull Bragantino, 2-1, at Mineirão, in the 24th round. Since then, the team has suffered a defeat to Vasco and three consecutive draws. The team's next match will be against Fortaleza this Saturday at Mineirão.

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