Diniz hails Vegetti, urges caution over Vasco’s Copa do Brasil lead | OneFootball

With much suffering and emotion, Vasco defeated Fluminense 2-1 this Thursday at Maracanã, in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil semifinal. Forward Pablo Vegetti, who had been going through a turbulent time at the club, scored the stoppage-time goal that gave the victory to the Cruzmaltino. Coach Fernando Diniz praised the player in the post-match press conference.

“I believe Vegetti embodies what Vasco is. He is a player of absolute dedication. Besides being a great scorer, he is a person with a lot of will, a lot of charisma. One of the great leaders of the team. My relationship with him is not just good, but great. Obviously, when a player is playing constantly, there is a certain natural fluency. Even when he plays less sometimes, my relationship with him is very close. He is very dedicated to his teammates,” praised coach Fernando Diniz.

“This goal today was a great merit of everything that happened with him, of the relationship he builds. If you could see what he says during training, in the talks, when he prays. He is very interested in doing the best he can,” he added.

Nothing Decided

With the victory by a one-goal difference, Vasco took the lead in this Copa do Brasil semifinal. Diniz stated that despite the triumph, nothing is decided.

“For me, it's like the first half. Now the first half is over and they need one more goal to decide. Nothing is won. It's 180 minutes and we have to stay focused. We have to try to correct what we did wrong this Thursday and face Sunday's game with as much seriousness as we can, respecting our opponent,” concluded Diniz.

Photos: Matheus Lima / Vasco.

Decision on Sunday

Now, Vasco and Fluminense will face each other again in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil semifinal. The match is this Sunday at 8:30 PM (Brasília time), again at Maracanã.

The Cruzmaltino has the advantage of a draw playing as the visitor. In case of a one-goal victory by Tricolor, the decision of the Copa do Brasil finalist will be made through penalty shootouts.

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