Alexsander hails Atlético's progress and new chance to start for Galo | OneFootball

Starting in Atlético’s 2-0 win over Cienciano of Peru on Thursday night (21) at Arena MRV, midfielder Alexsander celebrated the team’s current growth and praised the positive run Atlético has put together in recent matches this season.

With goals from Renan Lodi and Bernard, both assisted by Cuello, Galo won the Matchday 5 clash in the Copa Sudamericana group stage and now depends only on itself to secure first place in Group B in the final round of the competition.

In the mixed zone at Arena MRV, Alexsander spoke about the team’s improvement in recent performances and pointed out that Atlético had already been playing well, but was falling short in decisive moments.

“We were saying in the last few games that we were putting in good performances but letting the win slip away. I think the fact that we fixed that helped us a lot and gave the team more confidence to play. Now we have to keep working so we can continue delivering good performances and get the wins and qualification spots that lie ahead of us,” the player said.

With the draw between Juventud and Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, Atlético goes into the final round needing only a simple home win against the Venezuelan side to finish the group stage in first place.

Alexsander highlighted the importance of deciding qualification at Arena MRV with the support of Atlético’s fans.

“It’s very important to know that we only depend on ourselves, especially since the match will be at our home, with the support of our fans. We need to prepare very well so we can play well. We know we have to run hard to put in an excellent performance and secure qualification,” he commented.

The midfielder also celebrated the chance to start again after a difficult stretch this season. Alexsander had been dealing with an injury in recent months and had been getting few minutes with the starting team. Against Cienciano, Eduardo Domínguez chose to put him in the starting lineup in place of Alan Franco.

According to the player, waiting for the opportunity required patience and daily work:

WHAT’S COMING NEXT…

Atlético returns to action next Sunday (24) at 6:30 p.m. against Corinthians at Neo Química Arena in the Brazilian Championship. In the Copa Sudamericana, the decisive match against Puerto Cabello takes place next week, once again at Arena MRV.

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