Mauricio Barbieri points to a poor start as a determining factor in the defeat
Goals in the first 20 minutes determined the outcome, but Flamengo had opportunities to score
By Flamengo Communication - in
A very bad start that took its toll. That's how coach Mauricio Barbieri analyzed the 3-0 defeat to Atlético-PR at Arena da Baixada on Sunday morning. According to the coach, Flamengo started the match very poorly and the home team took advantage to open up a lead that would be very difficult to overcome later.
"The first 20 minutes defined the match; they were crucial. There are some issues we take into consideration. We warned that Atlético tries to use the advantage of starting the game due to the particular conditions of the field, and we made too many mistakes. From then on, we clicked, we had chances, we made changes at halftime, and we had complete control in the second half. They created chances on the counter-attack. Santos made great saves; it's a very bad result considering the disastrous start we had," explained Barbieri, who observed an improvement in the team in the second half.
"We had complete control in the second half. They tried to set up occasional counter-attacks, and we even had up to 70% possession. I'm not using the numbers to explain the result. Goalkeeper Santos made great saves, but it's a very bad result for our aspirations, and that was due to a disastrous start to the game," he concluded.
Flamengo played today without Diego and Réver, as well as goalkeeper Diego Alves. For Barbieri, the players were missed, as they would be for any team, but it wasn't the deciding factor in the result. According to the coach, the start of the game made all the difference.
"We will always miss the players who have been playing. But we've had situations like this before and we got the result. We have to give credit to Atlético, who also improved their game. Sometimes people say 'your direct opponent beat Atlético', but it was Atlético. We lacked more balance to avoid giving them the advantage. In the second half, they had chances, but we created more opportunities to score goals. The second half was another game we should have played from the beginning, but we weren't able to."
With this result, Flamengo dropped to third place in the Brasileirão. They remained with 37 points and were overtaken by Internacional. Barbieri commented on the matter and explained that it wasn't a cause for major concern. With the start of the second half of the season, Flamengo will have many opportunities to recover from the result.
"Another round is about to begin. We had a good performance, we didn't finish first, but we were among the top teams. It matters little who leads from the beginning, but in the last round. Both in defeats and victories there are positive points and we need to highlight them. The first 20 minutes determined the result; Atlético was in a comfortable position at the back and we couldn't convert the chances we had," Barbieri concluded.