Cuca wrestles with balance as Santos weigh changes after 2-2 draw | OneFootball

Globo.com reports that Cuca is weighing whether to prioritise his most gifted individuals or a more balanced Santos team. The debate sharpened after Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Chapecoense.

Santos faded after the interval and were booed at full time. Cuca felt it should have been a home win, spoke of the need to impose themselves, and said the team must find balance and understand how the points slipped away after a 4-1 victory over Universidad Central in the Copa Sudamericana.

In that Chapecoense match he restored Neymar and brought back several regulars. Christian Oliva made way for Willian Arão, Miguelito dropped out for Neymar, Gabigol replaced Thaciano as centre forward, and Igor Vinícius started ahead of Gabriel Menino.

Asked to compare with his 2020 Santos side that reached the Libertadores final, Cuca said the current group have greater individual quality but that team functioned better collectively. He indicated that, if necessary, he could favour players who add defensive shape and recovery over pure technique.

With the Sudamericana playoff for the last 16 concluding on Tuesday at Vila Belmiro, kick-off 21:30 Brasília time, Cuca is not expected to field his most technical XI. Santos won the first leg 4-1 against Universidad Central and can lose by up to two goals and still progress, so rotation and rest for some players may come before back-to-back Remo ties in the Copa do Brasil, then Athletico-PR.

Source: Globo.com