After defeat, Crespo backs São Paulo for Libertadores clash: "We will win" | OneFootball

Minutes after the defeat to Santos, São Paulo was already focused on the match against LDU, the second leg of the Libertadores quarterfinals. Coach Hernán Crespo, despite the setback in the first leg in Quito, sees Tricolor as strong for the clash and guaranteed that the team will win the match.

Crespo took an optimistic tone for the decisive duel, even though the team lost 2-0 in the first meeting. The Argentine showed confidence in turning the tie around at Morumbis and, when asked about it, simply replied: “We are going to win.”

“The players are fine. The defeat doesn’t affect anything. They’re fine and will play a great game on Thursday. Thursday will be a mental game. We’ll be ready,” said the coach at a press conference.

“I can’t convince anyone [to go to Morumbis]. Either we’ll be eliminated or we’ll go through. If we go through, it will be historic, epic. I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to experience something historic,” he added.

Ineffective attack

Crespo left satisfied with the performance of São Paulo’s reserves in the derby, despite the defeat. He admitted that the team struggled in the offensive sector and gave credit to Santos for the victory.

“We always try to get forward. At this moment, in the last two games, it hasn’t been working. We created more chances against LDU. Today was a tighter game, a tough match even with effort and determination,” he assessed.

“In this case, we have to congratulate Santos. Santos played very well, with a lot of intensity. They are fighting to avoid relegation, preparing every day. They did very well. We tried to play, but we didn’t find what we needed to win. It was a tight game,” he concluded.

The coach also spoke about the decision to rest the starters. “I spoke with the players, we have an important group and we have to trust. Just like in the win against Botafogo. We could play well or not, but I trusted. That was the idea. Some needed to play a bit more. We performed well, we weren’t as precise, but it was a detail that made Santos win.”

Standing in the league

With the 1-0 defeat to Santos, São Paulo remained in seventh place in the Brasileirão standings, with 35 points.

Next São Paulo match

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