Filipe Luís slams João Victor in Flamengo loss: “No options” | OneFootball

João Victor Participated in Fluminense's Second Goal

With Léo Ortiz recovering from a sprain and Danilo worn out due to the FIFA Date, coach Filipe Luís opted for João Victor for the classic against Fluminense this Wednesday (19). The 18-year-old made a mistake in one of the rival's goals and was substituted at halftime. The coach admitted that the defender did not perform well and revealed he had no other option.

— First, I gave the minutes when I could give the minutes. We are playing for our lives, fighting for the lead in every game since the first round of the Brazilian Championship. There's no time to give minutes. I managed to give the boys some minutes a bit more in the Copa do Brasil, with Botafogo da Paraíba, then with Atlético-MG some also played, but the difference in level between the players is very big —, started Filipe Luís.

— The Leos, Danilo, are national team players, their level is very high, that's what's important for you to understand. When the fans, everyone asks for the youth players, I also want to put them in. And I see the level difference that exists. Danilo is already 34 years old. The young ones starting out will make mistakes, it's normal. But we've reached this point in the season where we need them and I'm not afraid to put them in —, added the coach.

WHAT IS FILIPE LUÍS' ANALYSIS OF JOÃO VICTOR?

— Now, of course, unfortunately (João) didn't have a good game. I have confidence, I've seen him perform, I know the level he can reach. But it was really a very, very difficult game. And I thought of several other options, but there weren't any, honestly, with the players currently available for this game. It was, in my opinion, the best option. Unfortunately, he had a below-par game. We had a very poor first half, which made it difficult to recover and get into the game —, he concluded.

WHO PLAYS AGAINST BRAGANTINO?

With Danilo having more time to recover, and Léo Ortiz in the final stages of recovery from his ankle, the tendency is that João Victor will not be fielded against Bragantino. The match kicks off at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) at Maracanã, for the 35th round of the Brasileirão.

Flamengo leads the competition with 71 points, against Palmeiras' 69. Additionally, Cruzeiro, which faces Juventude this Thursday (20), has a chance to catch up with the leaders, as they have 64 points. Thus, Coluna do Fla will follow this and all the matches in the sequence of the round.

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