Leonardo Jardim mocks Fluminense and demands more from Flamengo squad | OneFootball

Flamengo completely dominated most of the match, but came under pressure at the end

Flamengo won 2-1, but it could easily have been much more. That, at least, was Leonardo Jardim’s view after this Sunday’s (12) clash. The Portuguese coach was full of praise for the Rubro-Negro performance and felt that Fluminense escaped a thrashing at the Maracanã in a match valid for the 11th round of the Brasileirão. However, the Portuguese manager wants Mengão to be “clinical” in finishing off matches.

— There was a spell in the first half up until the shot off the post, and then Fluminense’s goal came, which was an unfortunate moment. We were closer to scoring a third goal than they were to pulling one back at that point. After the chances we missed and the pressure we applied for 75 minutes, conceding a goal like that made the team a little tense. We weren’t able to press as much, and the opponent started to think it was their lucky day. Our defensive midfielders were showing some fatigue, and we had used both of them in the altitude game — Jardim began.

— Unfortunately, we have three defensive midfielders out, and that was my biggest concern in terms of maintaining the tempo, but we managed it through everyone’s effort. But it was a huge victory in terms of merit. The Carioca final was much more balanced; today, if finishing luck had been on our side, we could have been 3-0 or 4-0 up by the 35th minute (of the first half). We pressed well and kept our lines high — added the Flamengo coach.

HOW DID THE MATCH GO?

As Leonardo Jardim said, Flamengo had total control of the match. Just six minutes in, Pedro opened the scoring. Five minutes into the second half, the striker doubled the lead. Besides that, the number 9 had a goal ruled out for offside, hit the post, and saw Plata miss an open chance. But if you don’t take your chances, you pay for it.

In the 30th minute of the second half, Savarino pulled one back for Fluminense and, from that moment on, the derby changed completely. As a result, the rival side camped in the attacking half and forced Rossi to make good saves to secure Flamengo’s victory.

MESSAGE RECEIVED, FLAMENGO?

So, Leonardo Jardim made it clear that he expects a more efficient Flamengo, starting as soon as Thursday (16). In midweek, Mengão face Independiente Medellín (COL) in the second round of the Copa Libertadores da América. Kickoff is at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at the Maracanã.

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