Vojvoda’s assistant explains Santos line-up change and Gabigol’s omission | OneFootball

Santos drew 1-1 with Corinthians on Sunday afternoon in a match valid for the sixth round of the Brazilian Championship. For this match, Peixe saw the return of Neymar and a change in the lineup, with three defenders. Assistant coach Gastón Liendo, who replaced the suspended Vojvoda, explained the formation and revealed what motivated the substitution of Gabigol.

“We always tend to use different formations so the players can see that, in a game, there can be a back line of three, four, or five. Since the game against Vasco, we had ten, eleven days to work and we worked on our system and used other days to work on this formation. We were already working on it, it wasn’t after the game against Mirassol. I think it fit well. The game itself was a classic, the team fit well, but as in every classic, there are moments for the opponent and moments for us,” he explained.

“In the first 20 minutes, the game was ours, we were playing in the opponent’s half, their goal shook us a bit, but the team kept up the desire, then they had more possession and finished better. Second half, the same thing. Then, other things happened, one was sent off and another left injured. We tried to adjust to secure the draw with two players down,” he analyzed.

In the final stretch of the game, Santos lost two players: Luan Peres, who was sent off, and Vinícius Lira, who was injured.

“We trained different variations. We analyzed the opponent, as always. Corinthians plays through the middle and we thought this line with wing-backs would work. Rony made the sacrifice, gave a lot, as did Barreal. He’s not a striker, but he’s an attacking player,” he continued.

Gabigol’s substitution angers fans

Santos fell behind on the scoreboard, with a goal from Memphis Depay in the 18th minute of the first half. However, Peixe responded quickly and equalized. Gabigol leveled the score in the 21st minute. The number 9 for Peixe was substituted in the 26th minute of the second half.

Gabigol’s substitution did not please the fans, who chanted “donkey” at the assistant coach. Gastón Liendo said the striker asked to come off and revealed the other substitutions were forced due to the players’ physical conditions.

“He had cramps. He asked to be substituted at the same time Barreal was coming off. We had to make four forced substitutions. Gustavinho also had a good physical performance and was already at his limit, as was Bontempo. Barreal, Bontempo, Barreal, and Gabigol. He asked to be substituted, made a huge effort, ran a lot, looked for the ball, scored a goal, and we value that effort,” he justified.

Santos’ situation in the Brasileirão

With the draw, Santos reached six points and occupies 13th place in the Brasileirão standings. That’s three draws, two losses, and one win.

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