Lucas Silva hails wonder goal, team maturity and Jardim’s demands

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·22 September 2025

Lucas Silva hails wonder goal, team maturity and Jardim’s demands

The author of the goal that initiated Cruzeiro's comeback in the 2-1 victory over Red Bull Bragantino this Sunday (21) at Mineirão, midfielder and captain Lucas Silva celebrated the special moment experienced in front of the fans. The number 16 hit a beautiful shot from outside the box still in the first half, equalizing the match and paving the way for the celestial turnaround.

“I had been looking for this goal for a while, taking chances from outside the box. The fans demand a lot from me. Today it happened, at an important moment in the match, equalizing the game and giving us confidence to return for the second half.”

Lucas also commented on the opponent's posture, which surprised the celestial team with the strategy adopted at Mineirão. “We were surprised by Bragantino's posture of staying back. And then you have to expose yourself, create plays, you have to take a few more risks. This makes us open up the defense a bit more and they have a fast, quality attack. But something I see as important is maturity, even when falling behind on the scoreboard, staying grounded, working the ball, we tied the game and came back strong for the second half, controlling the game and turning it around. Seabra knows our team, caused difficulty, but we managed to overcome this adversity.”, he analyzed.

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The midfielder also highlighted coach Leonardo Jardim's insistence that he and his teammate Lucas Romero take more shots from outside the box.

“Even Jardim demands this from me. Romero and I have to take chances from outside the box. Romero even tried a few there, but when I had the opportunity, I managed to clear the play well and it opened up. I even saw Villalba passing by, but I said ‘I’m not going to let this one slip’ and it ended up being a beautiful goal. Every time there’s an opening there, I’ll take the risk and shoot at the goal.”

As the team captain, Lucas also spoke about the competition in the midfield sector, especially with Matheus Henrique, who recently joined the club. For him, the competition is positive and strengthens the squad for the long season. “It’s a very nice and healthy competition with Matheus Henrique. We’ve already played as a midfield duo when we were at Grêmio. It’s a healthy competition and I think it needs to be in the group, it ensures all players are at the highest level. And in the Brazilian calendar, everyone will have their space. In this competition, only Cruzeiro has to gain. Today it was necessary for him to come in and he responded very well. Each player will have their minute and their participation, which will be important.”, he concluded.

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