Ceni justifies elections and criticizes Flamengo’s draw in Argentina: “Disastrous” | Flamengo

At a press conference, Rogério Ceni shared the responsibility for Flamengo’s lack of aggressiveness with the quality of his rival. However, in his opinion, the main problem was the Venezuelan referee Alexis Herrera.

– The arbitration was disastrous. Much of the volume of Racing’s game was due to fouls near the area, aerial shots, raised balls … inexplicable fouls. I have lived in the Libertadores since 1993 and had never seen such a disastrous referee, with consecutive fouls, two weights and two measures.

Ceni said that the field wet from the rain and Racing’s stance prevented Flamengo from controlling the actions of the match:

– Flamengo always plays with the attitude of trying to press, attack. It is not always possible all the time, the field with a lot of rain, strong. We played on Saturday, we played 72 hours later with a trip. The sequence is long. The rival is a great team from Argentina, they are Libertadores, Flamengo, Racing, it is natural that they have good moments in the game. Flamengo will not dominate every game.

Flamengo returns to Rio de Janeiro at dawn on Wednesday and will have the week off to train until the return match against Racing itself, on Tuesday, December 1, in Maracana. With the goal scored in Buenos Aires, the team advances to the quarterfinals with a goalless draw in Rio de Janeiro.

The match against Grêmio, for the 23rd day of Brasileirão, which was scheduled for next weekend, was postponed by CBF. There is no new date yet.

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– Of course, when you have such talented players up front, it’s natural to find fault with the defensive sector. Everyone expects Flamengo to score goals, attack. I think it’s the set, it’s the system. We have to have time to train. I’ve been here for two weeks, I’m in game five. We will try to improve the team this week, including the defensive system.

Option for Renê instead of Isla

– Matheuzinho was a point that was left aside. A player with a lot of offense. Renê has a greater marking power. Despite having the opposite leg, he has already played two games with Flamengo on the right side. This provided the basis for placing it on this paper. It was a sudden decision, Isla felt in the warm-up. It is not an injury, but a contracture in the back of the left thigh. We made the decision for Renê based on experience, a very particular decision in this regard.

Gabigol replacement

– Gabriel played 56, 57 minutes and it was already planned. He spent a week on treatment, muscle strengthening, had a swollen thigh, improved and donated as much as his physical condition allowed.