Filipe Luís: ‘Injustice’ for Evertton Araújo, De La Cruz choice explained | OneFootball

De La Cruz was Filipe Luís' choice to start the match between Flamengo and Internacional this Wednesday (04)

Flamengo stumbled this Wednesday (04) in the second round of the Brasileirão by drawing 1-1 with Internacional. After the game, Filipe Luís justified the choice of De La Cruz instead of Evertton Araújo and took the opportunity to praise the young midfielder, stating that, on some occasions, he was unfair by putting him in the “fire.”

— It's true that he is in a great moment, he is doing very well, covering all spaces. I imagined, before the game, he was the starter. But for a specific, tactical plan, I chose to start with Nico (De La Cruz), knowing that Nico couldn't play more than 60 minutes -, he said, before continuing:

— I preferred to start with Nico and bring in Evertton, rather than start with Evertton and bring in Nico in the second half. Based on this assessment, I chose to start with Nico. But Evertton has shown great improvement, I can even say that at times I was unfair with the choices, because whenever he played, he delivered, and only entered in tough situations -, concluded Filipe Luís.

DID EVERTTON ARAÚJO PLAY?

De La Cruz started as a starter against Internacional and played for 73 minutes. At 28 minutes into the second half, the Uruguayan was replaced by Evertton Araújo. While on the field, the 22-year-old midfielder completed 86% of his passes (12/14), according to the statistical site SofaScore.

IS EVERTTON ARAÚJO 'ON THE RADAR' OF FOREIGN CLUBS?

According to a report by Coluna do Fla, West Ham (ENG) approached Evertton Araújo through scouting and began closely observing the Cria do Ninho. The English team values the midfielder at around 12 million euros (R$ 74 million).

On the other hand, Flamengo sets a much higher value for Evertton Araújo, considering the young athlete as a promise for the European market. Despite foreign interest, the club makes it clear that it does not intend to negotiate the player at this moment, prioritizing his development within the Mais Querido.

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