Lucas Gonçalves blasts ref after Atlético loss, explains changes

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·26 de febrero de 2026

Lucas Gonçalves blasts ref after Atlético loss, explains changes

After the 2-1 defeat to Grêmio in Porto Alegre, in the fourth round of the Brazilian Championship, Atlético's permanent assistant coach, Lucas Gonçalves, gave a press conference and analyzed the team's performance. Serving as interim coach since Jorge Sampaoli's departure, he criticized the refereeing criteria and explained the changes made to the team.

Right at the beginning of the press conference, Lucas made it clear that the sending off of full-back Natanael, at 15 minutes into the first half, was decisive for the course of the match.

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At 15 minutes, there was the sending off and it completely conditioned the rest of the match. We came into the game with a good plan, believing we could get a good result here. But when you have one player less after 15 minutes, your strategy has to be totally changed, it's very difficult to play with one man down.

With one less player for almost the entire match, Atlético had to reorganize tactically, drop their lines, and rely on quick transitions, even managing to equalize in the second half before conceding the decisive goal.

Criticism of Raphael Claus and VAR

The assistant also questioned the criteria adopted by the refereeing, especially in incidents involving Natanael and Vitor Hugo.

Regarding the sending off, I won't even get into whether Natanael should have been sent off or not. It's a matter of interpretation, VAR called the referee. But a few minutes earlier, Natanael suffered a challenge and VAR didn't call the referee to interpret. If in the incident where Natanael was sent off they claimed there was excessive force, then in the challenge Natanael suffered, the same criteria should have been used.

Lucas also mentioned an incident at the end of the match involving Vitor Hugo: “Already at the end of the game, Vitor Hugo, in a challenge, the Grêmio player raised his elbow and Vitor is getting stitches on his eyebrow, with a huge cut. VAR, once again, did not call. My criticism is that different criteria were used.”

Opportunity for Cissé, Minda, and Reinier

Another point addressed was the inclusion of players who had not been used recently, such as Cissé, Minda, and Reinier. According to Lucas, the choice was based on the characteristics required by the context of the match: “In the game against América, a certain player profile was needed, without changing the team's structure too much. In today's game, in a different context, players with other characteristics, like Minda, who has the speed for counterattacks.”

Regarding Reinier, who came on for Hulk, and Cissé, who replaced Scarpa at halftime, the assistant detailed:

We needed a more mobile player instead of Hulk, since we were far from the goal. Reinier has speed, can hold the ball and carries it well, to get the team out from the back. He is a midfielder with very strong marking ability. He can press the player with the ball all the time.

Change in command

Lucas Gonçalves is not expected to remain in charge of the team for the next matches. The new Atlético coach, Argentine Eduardo Domínguez, will lead his first training session at Cidade do Galo this Thursday (26th) and will officially take over the team.

Upcoming fixtures

Atlético now shifts focus to the Campeonato Mineiro decider. Next Sunday (1st), the team will play for a spot in the final against América, at Independência, at 6:00 PM.

In the Brazilian Championship, the next fixture will be on March 11th, when Galo hosts Internacional at Arena MRV, at 7:00 PM, seeking to bounce back in the national competition.

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