Fluminense
Photo: Marcelo Gonçalves / Esporte News Mundo
After a beautiful second half and a 2-0 victory at Fla-Flu, coach Mano Menezes, in a press conference, spoke about the Tricolor team’s performance: “We had a difficult start to the game. Flamengo put us under good pressure, and with Our mistakes were not being able to propose the game, which consequently took away the team’s peace of mind. Unlike other games, today we managed to defend well, and the team, throughout the match, was very well positioned. second half, especially as a team; we had more volume, and the arrival of Arias added to Fluminense what you are seeing this season”.
Having played a match on Tuesday for the Colombian national team, attacking midfielder Jhon Arias started the game on the bench. The coach explained the reason for this choice: “He started on the bench because he is an essential player for the team. If you think that an athlete is so important and he plays two games in a short space of time, like he played for the national team, he travels for so many hours, you won’t put him on from the start of the match, as he runs a greater risk of getting injured. The tendency is also for Arias, in the first half, to feel more wear and tear, as the other players were physically exhausted. When he entered, the others had already played for 45 minutes, which minimizes wear and tear. Furthermore, it was important that, when Flamengo used their medallions, we could also use ours.”
This was the second match in a row that Fluminense played without its main defender and did not concede goals. Regarding this, Mano Menezes said that he has always made it clear that Thiago Silva is an above-average defender, but he also said that the team already defended itself differently. He commented that part of the defender’s great performance came from the team’s defensive improvement as a whole. Furthermore, he highlighted that the system protects the defenders, meaning they do not need to run after the attackers.
Other topics discussed were the fact that Fluminense had only achieved two victories in the last 19 classics and the importance of this game for the self-esteem of the team and the fans. “I think teams have their cycles and characteristics. Fluminense, a while ago, was characterized by playing in a way that ended up being very winning, but their rivals are also of great quality. The classics, most of the time, they are decided more by posture, behavior and attitude than by the game technically. In my command, we played three. The first we lost with a hand goal, the second with a goal at 50, and now we won due to our commitment and resistance. when the opponent was better.”
With the victory, Fluminense reached 33 points and occupies 15th place in the table. Now, the Laranjeiras team faces Athletico Paranaense on Tuesday, at 7pm, in a duel valid for the 31st round of the Brazilian Championship, at Maracanã. If they win, the tricolor moves further away from the relegation zone and pushes the opponent towards the relegation zone.
