Pedro points to ‘culprit’ for Flamengo flop v Athletico-PR in Brasileirão | OneFootball

Flamengo and Athletico-PR drew 1-1 this Sunday (17)

Flamengo struggled, especially in the first half, to adapt to Athletico-PR’s synthetic pitch. Even with those difficulties, Mengão managed to snatch a 1-1 draw in the closing minutes through Pedro this Sunday (17). The number 9 pointed out that the plastic surface at Arena da Baixada is different from the others in the country.

— First of all, I thank God for another goal, for another good match. I think the whole team gave everything. This is a very difficult place to play. It’s a synthetic pitch that really… makes the ball move much faster than on the other synthetic pitches in Brazil. But that’s no excuse. Our first half was below par, but in the second we managed to make the game more even —, began Pedro.

— We had our chances there too. But it was a very difficult match, as it always is here against Athletico. And today it was important to get a point. Now we have to keep working. We have a game in hand against Palmeiras. And now we face them on Saturday. But we have to stay focused and keep working to keep improving —, added the number 9.

HOW DID THE MATCH GO?

With the ball “alive,” Flamengo struggled to string passes together. Saúl and Carrascal, for example, gave away many plays considered “easy” in the first half. With Mengo looking rattled, Athletico-PR took advantage to open the scoring through Mendoza after a bad mistake by Rossi.

In the second half, Flamengo improved and managed to create more chances. Then, in the 38th minute of the second half, Pedro made the most of a pinpoint pass from Bruno Henrique to level the score, on the eve of the World Cup squad announcement. The top scorer in the Brasileirão also looked ahead to Mengão’s future this season.

— Of course we wanted the win here, but like I said, it’s a very difficult pitch to play on, a game full of duels. But today we competed well, we also played well in the second half, and we picked up an important point. Now the focus is on the Libertadores and then Palmeiras —, he concluded.

WILL PEDRO PLAY ON WEDNESDAY?

With Pedro available, Flamengo will face Estudiantes (ARG) on Wednesday (20) at the Maracanã. However, the striker has been on the bench in every Libertadores match so far. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether coach Leonardo Jardim will repeat that strategy at the Maracanã, starting at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time).

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