Vojvoda admits poor Santos display in loss to Ceará: "We didn't play well" | OneFootball

Coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda saw his unbeaten run at the helm of Santos come to an end this Sunday with a 3-0 defeat to Ceará, in a match for the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship. Peixe saw Lucas Mugni, Pedro Henrique, and Fernando Sobral find the net at Arena Castelão. Vojvoda admitted that his team did not play a good game and explained the changes he made to the lineup for the match.

“It was not a good game from us. We didn’t start well. Ceará scored a goal and from there we had some possession, but without the finishing we saw in the last match. Overall, it wasn’t a good game. Defensively, we didn’t have that strength under pressure. And with the ball, we didn’t create many dangerous chances,” he said.

“We had some clear situations in the second half, but so did the opponent because we left a lot of space at the back. But in finishing, we have to score, and when you don’t, everything changes. Today we didn’t play a good game,” he concluded.

Ceará opened the scoring at ten minutes into the first half, with Lucas Mugni, who took advantage of a mistake in the Santos defense. Then, in the second half, unable to capitalize on their chances thanks to a good performance by Bruno Ferreira, Santos saw Vozão extend the lead at the 20th minute with Pedro Henrique. Fernando Sobral, finally, scored the third at 48 minutes.

Vojvoda explains lineup changes

For the match against Ceará, Vojvoda could not count on Mayke, who felt muscle discomfort and didn’t even travel to Fortaleza. In addition to bringing in Igor Vinícius at right back, the coach made two more changes: Adonis Frías in place of Luan Peres and Tomás Rincón in place of Barreal.

“The changes were Igor Vinícius for Mayke. He (Mayke) couldn’t travel due to a physical problem, so we preferred to rest him. The biggest change was in defense. With a strong aerial game like Pedro Raul’s, both players (Frías and Duarte) showed good aerial ability and I preferred that aggressiveness from them,” he explained.

“The other was more tactical: Rincón for Barreal. I was thinking of building up gradually, a stronger team in midfield and saving Barreal or Souza for the second half. And when the score was already 1-0, I made this change, bringing Rincón on for Barreal,” he concluded.

Standings situation

The defeat leaves Peixe with 28 points, in 16th place, three points ahead of Vitória, the team that opens the relegation zone. This was the first defeat for Alvinegro Praiano under coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda. The coach will now have the FIFA break to make the necessary adjustments to his team for the rest of the season.

Next Santos match

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