Roger hails São Paulo in tough conditions: “I saw a solid side” | OneFootball

The scoreline was narrow, but coach Roger Machado made sure to praise São Paulo’s performance in the 1-0 win over Boston River this Tuesday (7), in their Copa Sudamericana opener.

The reasons to be satisfied with the performance in Uruguay were clear: the completely adverse weather conditions faced by Tricolor, who had to overcome rain and strong winds, as well as the lack of chemistry in the mixed lineup fielded.

“A match under unusual circumstances, with lots of rain, lots of wind, an empty stadium. It could have led the team to relax, but I saw a solid team that managed to play safely and control the opponent to win an important opener. I was able to notice some important things, assessments for the rest of the season,” he said.

Only Rafael, Bobadilla and Ferreirinha kept their places in the starting lineup compared to the team that thrashed Cruzeiro over the weekend in the Brazilian Championship.

According to Roger, although the Sudamericana has its own value, the competition can be key to the club’s plans to rotate players and keep everyone in good physical condition.

“We took advantage of these moments to make assessments, manage workloads, give others opportunities and test alternatives. It was a good debut, a safe match, on a decent pitch, but one that proved to be heavier. The wind stopped the ball and didn’t allow switches through the air, so it had to be done on the ground,” he added.

“The shape and squad rotation we had today, using players with fewer minutes and keeping everyone involved, was also with the weekend match in mind. It’s important to keep everyone ready, motivated and eager to be among the starting 11. An international competition has to motivate those who are fighting for space,” concluded the Tricolor manager.

After the opening win, which leaves them tied at the top of Group C, São Paulo will face a direct battle for first place in their next Sudamericana match, against Chile’s O’Higgins at Morumbi, at 7 p.m. (Brasília time) next Tuesday (14). Before that, the club travels to Salvador (BA) to face Vitória in the Brazilian Championship, at 4:30 p.m. (Brasília time) on Saturday (11).

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