Analysis: in his worst game of the year, Vasco is apathetic and collects technical errors against Ceará | Basque

The wrong domains cause horrors

Vascaíno wrinkled his nose for the first time after three minutes, when Ceará opened the scoring. Neto Borges and Carlinhos overlooked easy domains in sequence, the opponent went on the counterattack, and Pedro Naressi took the opportunity to set the table with Vina and beat Lucão’s exit. There, he could already feel that the night would not be easy.

Before the second opposing goal, the prospects only got worse. Leo Gil was wrong in everything he was looking for, from simple touches to countless unsuccessful ball probes. In 20 minutes, he had only completed seven of the 17 passes he had attempted.

His namesake Léo Matos did the same on the far right. Wrong twice. In decision-making, insisting on the passing game even against the greats Klaus (1.93 m) and Luiz Otávio (1.90 m) stationed in the defense of Ceará. And in the execution of the crosses, almost always cut by the rival defense.

Leo Gil and Léo Matos, in fact, finished the game as the most unsuccessful passes for Vasco, with 14 (47 from the right) and 11 (30 completed), respectively.

Second goal flare, apathy and slow transition

A matter of time, Ceará’s second goal came at 26 minutes. And he revealed another weakness: the midfield with little footprint and defensive disorganization. As soon as Léo Chú received on the left, five Vasco fans came out en bloc to try to stop him in a disorderly and hasty manner. Carlinhos gave a first fight without strength, the midfielder from Ceará advanced and passed as Léo Matos wanted.

While trying to reorganize, the defense saw Cléber enter the middle undisturbed. Leandro Castan, who was close and aware that he had let his rival pass, even pointed to the big man to warn Ricardo Graça, in vain: 2 to 0, and the defeat began. Note the number of Basques involved in the tender. There were seven inside the area when Cléber had just pushed the net.

Castan, in fact, had one of his worst performances with the Vasco jersey. Meanwhile, he admitted that he had had one of his worst early days at Hill. He barely allowed Cléber to score another goal, in a play in which he kept scoring the ball and practiced loose.

The whole team made a lot of mistakes, but Vasco lost the game in midfield. Léo Gil and Andrey are men to qualify the exit of the ball with investments and good passes, but none of the frames measure up. They have no footprint or physical structure to fight with intensity. A pit bull is missing. And the transition is still very slow, the team also needs a small motor to connect the ball from defense to attack with greater speed. Although Benítez is not 100%, Juninho appears as an option, but Sá Pinto hardly uses it.

The apathy of the environment was noted in figures quoted by commentator Ledio Carmona in the intermission. Commentator premiere in the duel, Ledio pointed out that Ceará went to the dressing room with more than twice the disarmament in relation to the hosts: 11 to 5.

Breath of hope at launch and new mistakes like cold water

After a poor first half, undoubtedly the worst for Vasco in 2020, assistant Alexandre Grasseli, trained by Sá Pinto (embezzlement of Covid-19), changed the scheme and returned to 4-3-3. He put Tiago Reis in place of Ricardo Graça, who was the best of the three defenders. The team remained inert, although more present in the opposite field and maintaining a dominance of possession of the ball beyond unproductive.

The light at the end of the tunnel came in a great shot from Andrey, the only Vasco player to play the ball. Ribamar dominated in physical strength and suffered a penalty that he converted in the 19th minute.

It was Benítez’s moment, recovered from Covid-19, but the number 10 shirt contributed little. At 33, Vasco hit the ropes forever. It is true that Gustavo Torres was fouled at the beginning of the tender – commentator Sandro Meira Ricci denounced the infraction – but it is also worth noting that, tired, the Colombian did not enter the division with Lima. In the sequence, Lima himself played for Saulo Mineiro to kick and Lucão to accept. The boy could defend himself.

In the first half, the biggest mistakes came from the experts. In the second stage, it was the boys’ turn. Defender Miranda, who played a game well below his last performances, committed a child penalty on Saulo. Vina scored and closed the win.

If Sá Pinto had solved the defensive problem with only six goals conceded in the first nine games, the performance against Ceará put on alert for the decision against Defense and Justice, next Thursday, again in São Januário, for the round of 16. South American. And, more than ever, the best defense will be attack. If it is not filtered, Vasco will pass, since he drew 1-1 in Argentina, and in the competition the classified goal is away from home.