Roger accepts draw, admits São Paulo pressure: “Only wins bring calm” | OneFootball

Coach Roger Machado praised São Paulo’s draw against Internacional. Tricolor reacted late and secured a 1-1 result at Beira-Rio in the ninth round of the Brazilian Championship. Given the overall circumstances, the manager preferred to highlight the importance of the point earned, although he acknowledged the pressure amid the search for better results.

“It’s always good when you manage to lift your spirits during the match. The substitutions came on well, and we had the debut of Tetê, an 18-year-old kid. I asked him if he had butterflies in his stomach, and he said yes, because when we no longer feel that, it’s time to stop playing. All of that, there are several elements that show us we achieved important things with this draw,” said the coach.

“Now, the pressure for results remains. Unfortunately, a coach only has peace of mind when he wins, when he stays near the top of the table. This point was very important because it put us back in a higher position, and it gives confidence going forward to the players, who recognize the importance of this away result,” he added.

Roger Machado lined up São Paulo with a tactical change for the clash against Inter. The coach abandoned the diamond midfield and reshaped it into something closer to a setup with three midfielders, two central strikers and a winger wide on the right, with Artur in that role. Chasing the equalizer in the second half, he reworked the team into a 4-3-3, bringing on Ferreira to play down the left.

“During this training period, with Artur’s arrival, I made some evaluations. Since it was an away match, the idea was to start with a more solid team and then open things up as the match went on, which happened because we were behind on the scoreboard. The idea was to start with a more solid team, stronger in midfield, with one player wide on one side and another with Wendell, who gives support play down the stronger side. It worked in part. We started well, then Inter had a bit more control, but the idea was to use both halves to look for different alternatives, which I think proved important. I liked it, above all because it gave us greater balance,” he assessed.

“Inter started to struggle when, because of the wider wingers and our full-backs coming from deep, their midfielders ended up having to cover a lot of ground. That allowed us to get into the middle of the pitch, as happened on the goal play. Given the characteristics of our players and with the right options, we absolutely can play with two players wide on the flanks, but it will require more sacrifice from a central midfield figure to protect the defense,” he added.

Midfielders taken off

After falling behind, Roger Machado had to make changes at halftime to make the team more creative. The first was bringing on Cauly in place of Danielzinho, a decision the coach explained.

“The assessment at halftime was that we needed a player who was a bit more cerebral through the center of the pitch. The idea of putting on Cauly was precisely so he could float behind the holding midfielder, keeping Luciano and Calleri closer to the box. I think that already gave us a little more control. Little by little, I changed things, moving Cauly into the position of the second midfielder so he could receive the ball facing forward,” he explained.

Another change that drew attention, however, was Marcos Antônio coming off for Ferreira. That left Tricolor with a midfield made up of Luciano, Cauly and Pablo Maia, and an attack formed by Ferreira, Artur and Calleri.

“I can’t avoid making those changes, always thinking about the team and about the idea of gaining an advantage through substitutions. Danielzinho has come off, Marcos Antônio, Calleri, Lucas. Those are my responsibilities. What gave me encouragement and motivation today was seeing that it was the first time I played with two wingers with these characteristics, and what happened left me excited about a possible run with this setup. Of course, the fans have their preferences. Our three-man [midfield] was important in that diamond we had been using. I felt the need for other alternatives with players wide on the flanks,” the coach concluded.

Situation in the table

With the result, São Paulo went a third straight match without a win, with two defeats and one draw. The team reached 17 points and lost second place after Fluminense beat Corinthians, and could still drop out of the top four if Flamengo beats Red Bull Bragantino away on Thursday.

São Paulo’s next matches

São Paulo vs Cruzeiro (10th round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: 04/04 (Saturday), at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Morumbis, in São Paulo (SP)

Boston River-URU vs São Paulo (first round of the Copa Sudamericana) Date and time: 07/04 (Tuesday), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Estadio Centenario, in Montevideo (Uruguay)

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