Romero eyes Cruzeiro reaction after exit: “Back to the Libertadores”

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·2 September 2026

Romero eyes Cruzeiro reaction after exit: “Back to the Libertadores”

Cruzeiro’s elimination by Atlético-MG in the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals left a sense of frustration within the squad. After the 2-1 defeat at Arena MRV this Tuesday (1st), defensive midfielder Lucas Romero lamented Lucas Villalba’s sending-off and said the team had chances to put the derby away while it still had 11 men on the field.

Cruzeiro opened the scoring through Kaio Jorge from the penalty spot, but went down to 10 men in the 15th minute of the second half, when Villalba received his second yellow card and was sent off. With the numerical advantage, Atlético-MG piled on the pressure and came from behind with goals from Victor Hugo and Fred. The result sent their rival through to the semifinals of the competition.

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As he left the field, Romero highlighted that Cruzeiro managed to create chances before the sending-off, but was unable to make the most of them to extend its lead on the scoreboard.

“My feeling is that when it was 11 against 11 we created a lot of chances, but we couldn’t kill off the game. With one player less it’s difficult, we tried to defend as best we could. They kept growing, gained confidence with the first goal and unfortunately turned the game around. With one man down, it’s hard to go after the equalizer,” the midfielder told SporTV.

With the elimination from the Copa do Brasil, Cruzeiro now has only the Brazilian Championship left to play this season. Raposa is in sixth place with 39 points and will face Athletico-PR in the next round on Sunday (6) at 4 p.m. at Mineirão.

Romero called for calm within the group to process the elimination and stressed that Cruzeiro’s main objective now is to secure a place in next year’s Copa Libertadores.

“Now we have to keep a cool head, get back to work, think about the Brazilian Championship tomorrow, and understand that our goal now is to return to the Copa Libertadores next year.”

The defeat to Atlético-MG ended Cruzeiro’s Copa do Brasil campaign in the quarterfinals. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Mineirão, the team took the lead at Arena MRV but could not hold on after going a man down. Atlético advanced with a 3-2 aggregate score.

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