Sampaoli lauds Atlético-MG at altitude, hails Hulk's display | OneFootball

At Ecuadorian altitude, Atlético-MG secured a draw in injury time against Independiente del Valle, 1-1, with a goal by Dudu, in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semifinal. After the match, coach Jorge Sampaoli praised Galo's performance and commended Hulk's play, who assisted the goal for the team from Minas Gerais.

“It is very difficult to play here. The demands of a field where the home team usually always wins in this city. And the altitude, a lot of conditions for a semifinal. I believe the first half was balanced, without many actions from our side, we lacked a bit of play. In the second half, the team played better, had many clear chances to equalize earlier, and even in the end, could have scored (the winning goal),” said the coach in a press conference after the match.

Hulk smashes!

Trailing the entire match, Atlético-MG equalized in the 46th minute of the second half. After an individual play by Dudu, the former Palmeiras player exchanged passes with Hulk, who assisted the goal for ‘Baixola’.

Sampaoli celebrated Hulk's involvement in a goal and believes this marks the return of his good form.

“For us, it is very important to recover Hulk's level, because as you mentioned, he is a club idol, a player who has experienced many things at the club. I am very happy that he made the play for the equalizing goal. So, we always expect the best performance from him. Surely, this will give him momentum, greater confidence, and, well, he will help the team much more,” he concluded.

Atlético-MG's phase in the Copa Sudamericana

With the draw in the first leg, whoever wins in Belo Horizonte advances to the tournament final. In case of another draw, the decision will go to penalties. The return match takes place next Tuesday at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) at Arena MRV.

On the other side of the bracket, Universidad de Chile and Lanús are battling for a spot in the grand final of the competition. The first leg takes place this Thursday at 7 PM at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in Chile.

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