Marcão hails Riquelme, on Fluminense loss to Atlético-MG: “Very good”

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·12 September 2026

Marcão hails Riquelme, on Fluminense loss to Atlético-MG: “Very good”

Fluminense were beaten 3-1 by Atlético-MG this Saturday at Arena MRV. The Tricolor took the field with an alternative lineup with the second leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals in mind. After the match, Marcão analyzed the team’s performance. It was the coach’s first defeat in this spell in charge of the team.

“The game was even, under control. The first half went the way we had imagined. Organized. In the second half, Atlético-MG came at us with a lot of presence through the middle, so we thought about adding another man in midfield. It was exactly at the moment of the substitution that the goal came. There wasn’t even time to reorganize the team. Five minutes practically decided our game plan. After that, we had to rethink things to try to reduce their pressure and the scoreline. It was precisely when we conceded those two back-to-back goals that we were taken out of the game. Then they scored the third and we couldn’t react,” said Marcão

With the team behind during the match, Marcão brought on Riquelme. The youngster had not played since the game against Remo, when he provided the assist for Kevin Serna’s comeback goal. The coach praised the Xerém graduate’s performance, as he came on late in the second half.

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“About Riquelme, I’d say the pitch says a lot in everyday work. I have to be very fair in my choices. We look at training during the week, day by day, behavior… I have to respect what happens on the pitch, collectively and also a bit of what I think about the game. He had an opportunity against Remo, today he also did very well, and the pitch says a lot. The way he came on, he will certainly get more minutes,” said Marcão

Check out the coach’s other answers

The way the team lined up on the pitch

With the changes, the characteristics change. We were upbeat and excited about the tactical work the players had done in training. It was a team playing close together, with more speed, intensity and finishing. We took good things from it. We had to bring Castillo back inside, especially because we lost Cano. He had a good game. Julio had also been training well and responded well in a difficult match. Of course, it was impossible to separate this game from Tuesday’s match. I think the two goals in quick succession made our lives very difficult.

Players’ complaints about Atlético’s first goal

Our players claimed they didn’t hear the referee’s whistle. I spoke to him after the match and he was adamant that he blew it. We’ll look at it after the game so we can be fair.

Freytes’ performance

Given everything we had seen from Atlético-MG, the game plan required a left-footed player to play out from the back because of Atlético’s pressing. We couldn’t leave a right-footed player there, which is why we made that choice. They are players who had been training well. Of course, we want things to be done in the best way we planned, and he was directly responsible for the goal situation, but the responsibility belongs to everyone.

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