The coach stated that Verdão was below his level in Quito and believes in a historic breakthrough at home
Palmeiras found themselves in a complicated situation in the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores. On Thursday evening (23), Verdão lost 3-0 against LDU, in Quito, and will now need a defeat at home to reach the decision.
According to Abel Ferreira, the Alviverde team failed to provide a performance up to its level. The coach believes that Palmeiras took a long time to enter the match, which cost them the result in the first phase, as well as recognizing the good performance of LDU.
“Unfortunately in a decisive match we were not up to our skills. I don’t know if it was the way we entered the game, how the players interpreted what I asked, but 90 minutes is a long time. I think it was difficult for us to enter the game, I don’t know if it was due to adaptation or if it was due to the opponent who entered very well. I have doubts about the penalty we conceded, in the image I saw, in my opinion it is not a penalty. I think the Palmeiras today were not at their average level and our opponent today was much better,” he said.
Exchanges at Palmeiras
For the match, the Portuguese made three changes to the team, which were questioned by the fans before the match. Abel explained that each player had a specific mission in the match, making dissatisfaction with individual failures evident. Furthermore, the coach highlighted that the team was unable to understand the strength with which the opponent entered the field.
“Veiga’s mission was to go out and close the number 33 (Quiñónez). Emiliano’s mission was to accompany the player (Villamil) who scored the two goals. Murilo understood that today they were duels, more physical ones. I think he has this ability. There were three normal substitutions. I warned my players and that this team competes a lot and at home they are very strong. I think it was an aspect that in the first half we didn’t understand. aggressive and intense with which our opponents arrived”, he underlined.
Trust in the reaction
Despite the complicated task of the return match, the coach believes that the home standings are still possible. Abel promised that the team will fight until the last minute and reiterated that 90 minutes at home is a long time.
“I believe it is possible, that at home it is possible to score the same number of goals or more. I don’t have a pact with anyone. We won’t always win, but we will always fight until the last second. Defeat is hard, heavy, and I believe that if there is a team that can overturn this victory, it’s us. I won’t waste too much time thinking about what happened here today. We have 90 minutes at Allianz Parque and 90 minutes is a long time,” he underlined.
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Source: Terra
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