Léo Ortiz rues missed chances as Flamengo held to a draw | OneFootball

The Flamengo drew with Vasco 1 to 1 this Sunday, for the 24th round of the Brazilian Championship. After the match, defender Léo Ortiz regretted the missed chances, which ended up preventing the Rubro-Negro from winning the three points.

When questioned about the changes in the starting team in the classic, Léo Ortiz was emphatic in defending the planning of the technical committee. For him, the rotation is an inevitable and necessary part of the season, given the marathon of games and the short recovery time.

“We have such a qualified squad that changes will happen during the year, there is nothing to do, it's a lot of games, little rest time”, said the defender, in an interview with TV Globo.

Léo Ortiz also highlighted the work methodology of Filipe Luís, which promotes constant integration among all athletes, going against the idea of a starting team and a reserve. “We are used to playing with everyone during training, Filipe is a guy who does not usually put starters and reserves”, he explained.

Reasons for the draw

The defender was also straightforward in diagnosing the reason for Flamengo's draw: a lack of aim and a crucial failure in the set piece.

“Today's draw, we failed in not scoring more goals, we had some clear opportunities“, analyzed the defender, recognizing that the game became more open in the second half, with chances for both sides.

The point most regretted by the defender was Vasco's equalizing goal, originated from a corner. Léo Ortiz emphasized the importance of this type of play in such a balanced competition, admitting the team's mistake in one of its strong points.

“We conceded a goal in the set piece, which we know decides championships. In many moments we took advantage of this, today we ended up sinning in this and suffering the goal”, he regretted.

The fight for the title continues open

Despite the frustrating result in a classic, Léo Ortiz's speech was of total confidence in the team's recovery capacity. The defender remembered that the championship is long and that Flamengo will still have direct confrontations to seek the lost points.

“We ended up with a draw in the classic, but there is much championship ahead, there is still direct confrontation and we can seek these points away from home too”, concluded the defender, already projecting the sequence of the fight for the Brazilian Championship title.

With the draw, Flamengo remained at the top of the Brasileirão, but saw the difference to the second-placed Palmeiras, who have one less game, drop to two points. In the next round, the Rubro Negro faces Corinthians this Sunday, at 8:30 pm (Brasília time), at Neo Química Arena.

Before, however, there is the return match of the Libertadores quarterfinals, against Estudiantes, this Thursday, at 9:30 pm, in Argentina. Flamengo won the first leg, at Maracanã, by 2 to 1, and only needs a draw to advance to the semifinal.

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