Sampaoli: Full focus on Brasileirão, want Atlético top | OneFootball

After the comeback against Sport, winning 4-2 away, coach Jorge Sampaoli highlighted the importance of Atlético maintaining full focus on the Brazilian Championship, even on the eve of the Copa Sudamericana final. The Argentine coach emphasized that the team cannot "abandon" the national competition after achieving their first goal of moving away from the relegation zone.

At the moment, Galo is in 9th place in the Brasileirão, with 43 points. They are two points behind São Paulo, who are in 8th place and have played one more game than the team from Minas Gerais. The gap to Santos, the first team in the relegation zone, is 10 points.

According to the mathematics department of UFMG, Atlético's probability of relegation at this moment is 0.009%.

"We are thinking that now, with this victory, we are two points away from eighth place, which can give us a spot in the Copa Libertadores, and we will try to secure that spot. I, personally, want Atlético to be as high as possible in the Brasileirão, to secure that spot for the Libertadores," stated Sampaoli.

The victory at Ilha do Retiro boosted the group's morale and brought Galo closer to the top of the table. According to the coach, the moment is to remain competitive on both fronts. The final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Lanús (ARG), will be played on November 22 in Asunción, but the Argentine assures that the immediate focus is on Serie A.

In addition to planning a surge in the Brasileirão, Sampaoli also explained the strategy of rotating the squad in recent matches. Against Sport, the coach started the game with a mixed team and brought in the starters in the second half, which changed the course of the match.

Atlético returns to the field this Wednesday (12th) at 8:30 PM, at Arena MRV, to face Fortaleza in a postponed match from the 16th round of the Brasileirão. Sampaoli will have three absences due to the FIFA Date: Ivan Román (Chile), Júnior Alonso (Paraguay), and Alan Franco (Ecuador) have been called up by their national teams and have already traveled.

On the other hand, the coach will have the returns of Bernard and Ruan Tressoldi, who served suspensions and are available again for the match in Belo Horizonte.

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