Barbieri analyzes the match at Barradão and praises the team's performance.
Mais Querido played with one less player from the tenth minute of the first half.
By Matheus Oliveira - inOvercoming adversity marked the performance of Mais Querido on Saturday night (14) at Barradão. Against Vitória, the red-black athletes honored the Sacred Mantle in the 2-2 draw, in which they played in an adverse situation after the wrongful expulsion of Everton Ribeiro ten minutes into the first half. At the end of the match, Mauricio Barbieri gave a press conference.
The assistant coach, who led the team in the opening match of Flamengo's Brazilian Championship campaign, praised the team's growth and highlighted the importance of this moment in his career.
"I remain very happy and motivated to be working at the biggest club in Brazil, and I'm focused on the day-to-day, on contributing and improving. I'm satisfied with the progress the team has been showing," he said.
In order to reinforce the team's organizational aspect following the red card for the number 7, Barbieri explained the reason for choosing Dourado to make way for Willian Arão.
"We were forced to make the substitution due to the circumstances of the game. We needed to be a little more cautious and create opportunities on the counter-attack, which is what was going to happen. Dourado is an excellent player and has been helping us a lot, but the game went in a way that wouldn't favor him, hence the change," commented the assistant coach.
Regarding the referee's mistake, the Flamengo coach, on Saturday night, analyzed the team's tactical aspect and the alternative game plan forced by the smaller number of players on the field, praising the performance of his players.
"The penalty and the early sending-off greatly affected the game in relation to our plan. Considering what we were able to present, I believe we did very well," he observed, looking ahead to the next challenge in the Conmebol Libertadores. "We'll calmly assess the players, see how they perform, and then make a decision regarding the Santa Fe game," he added.
Vinicius Jr. had a standout performance not only offensively, providing the assist for Paquetá to open the scoring, but also defensively, a fact praised by Barbieri.
"Vinicius contributed a lot to the marking throughout the game. He has been improving a lot in this aspect in training. He's a sharp player, like Everton. I think he came on very well and did his job," he concluded.
This Wednesday (18), the focus of Mais Querido will be on the Conmebol Libertadores. Aiming to extend their lead in the group, Rubro-Negro will face Independiente Santa Fé, from Colombia, in the last match with closed doors for the competition. The ball will roll at Maracanã starting at 21:45 pm.