Vojvoda hails win, but says Santos are still on alert and urges focus | OneFootball

Juan Pablo Vojvoda celebrated Santos' victory over Sport this Friday at Vila Belmiro. The result lifts Peixe out of the relegation zone in the Brazilian Championship. The coach breathed a sigh of relief but still sees the team "on alert" and calls for focus in the last two rounds.

"I'll speak for myself. It's important to be out of the Z4 this round to breathe tomorrow. I'll watch the Libertadores final without thinking about the team. But we are still in an alert situation. It serves as a morale boost for tomorrow, but we are still on alert. Everyone needs to be on alert," declared the Argentine.

Correct Path

Vojvoda believes that Santos is on the right path to escape relegation. He praised the team's performance and personality against the bottom team.

"I think we played a good match. We were playing against the opponent and against our situation. We had balance, defended well, and had the personality to score goals in the first half, which was important. We increased the score in the second half, and we could have increased it with a penalty, which the referee decided was not. We played a correct match, and we need to continue on this path," he analyzed.

Why Tiquinho?

The coach also explained the presence of Tiquinho Soares among the starters. The number 9 hadn't been playing well, but Vojvoda considered that Santos needed a reference striker in the area.

"We considered it was a match to play with a reference number 9. Tiquinho offered that option. We analyzed him in recent days and saw a player ready to start the game. We wanted to have the two midfielders behind, with Schmidt and Arão, and on the sides Barreal and Guilherme. To find that balance, we decided on this lineup," he justified.

Complaints with the Refereeing

Vojvoda also expressed his discontent with the refereeing of Felipe Fernandes de Lima. He believes that Santos had three penalties ignored by the referee. The Argentine said that the goal difference could make a difference in the fight against relegation.

"Everything is very tight. Every game, every penalty, every situation is important. I asked the players to keep a clean sheet because our goal would come. I was a bit upset about that; there was one penalty in the first half and two in the second. But it's over, we can't do anything. Now we have to keep our focus because the goal is not yet achieved," he concluded.

Standings Situation

With the triumph over Sport, Santos surpassed Vitória and Internacional, taking 15th place in the standings with 41 points. The advantage over Leão da Barra, which opens the Z4, is two points.

Next Santos Match

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