Maravilla Martínez on Racing v Peñarol: "He leans on my elbow, I fall" | OneFootball

On an epic Copa Libertadores night, Racing defeated Peñarol 3-1, overturning the 1-0 loss from the first leg and qualifying for the quarterfinals, where they will face Vélez. One of La Academia’s heroes was Adrián Martínez, who ended his ‘drought’ and scored a brace. Maravilla spoke with TyC Sports, discussed his current form, and gave his version of the penalty incident that sparked controversy and anger among the Manya.

“It was a very beautiful moment, with our fans. We fought until the last minute and to win like this, with so little time left, you enjoy it twice as much. Scoring like that is a huge relief. For us forwards, it’s tough when you don’t score because the team needs you. I was calm because I had been scoring a lot and it happens to everyone,” he said. “Football, especially in Argentina, is very even, matches end 0-0 or 1-0. I was calm knowing that at some point I would get my chance,” he added.

“I wasn’t missing two or three chances per game either, we weren’t creating clear opportunities, it was tough for us as a team. As forwards, we know we have to make something happen or create it ourselves, because if you always get the perfect pass, it’s very easy,” he expressed. “I hadn’t had chances, in some games I hadn’t even taken a shot, but I was calm knowing it would come to me,” he added.

On the other hand, he didn’t attribute his bad run to the departure of Maximiliano Salas, with whom he had formed a great partnership. “It also happened with Salas that I went four or five games without scoring, it’s not like he made me score. Now in four games we’ve only scored one or two,” he said. “Sometimes teammates tease you and I tell them they don’t give me a pass, haha. With Salas we already had that chemistry, we knew each other, shared a room and that was a plus. But it’s happened to me that I didn’t score and I was always calm knowing Racing is a team that attacks and I’d get a chance, it’s up to me to put it in the net,” he concluded.

When the match at El Cilindro was 1-1 and Racing was being eliminated on aggregate, Wilmar Roldán awarded a penalty for a foul on Adrián Martínez, which sparked controversy among Peñarol. Maravilla, who also converted the penalty, gave his version of the play.

“In the first half there was a play where the goalkeeper left a rebound, I tried to poke it and someone pushed me from behind. The referee told me ‘get up.’ I think he later watched it and felt guilty,” he explained to TyC Sports. “In the second, the ball came to me for a volley, when I had one foot in the air, he put his elbow on me and I went down. He put his elbow so hard that I tried to steady myself and hold on to hit it head-on, but he pushed me and I went with the ball, I held my ground as long as I could, I didn’t want to go down because he hadn’t called the previous one, but the player’s weight pushed me forward, otherwise there’s no way I’d go down there,” he concluded.

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