World champion striker with Flamengo signs with Palmeiras

After the 0-0 draw with Cruzeiro , this Thursday (2), at Maracanã, Filipe Luís gave a press conference and addressed Samuel Lino's fluctuation . The striker, who started his career at Flamengo on a high and reached the Brazilian National Team, is going through a period of falling performance and was booed when he was substituted.

Filipe Luís on Samuel Lino's sequence of games at Flamengo: "maybe he felt it a bit and that caused his performance to drop"

PHYSICAL ISSUE AND WEAR

The coach acknowledged the drop in performance, but emphasized that the intense sequence of matches took its toll on his physical condition. " Lino had a very tough sequence of matches, very difficult. The Libertadores match was very demanding, and three days later he played against Corinthians , very difficult matches, and I chose to give him that sequence of minutes. Physically, he may have felt it a bit, and that caused his performance to drop," explained Filipe.

REQUEST TO THE FANS

Filipe Luís also made a point of asking for patience and understanding with the striker, reminding him that dribbling players are naturally more vulnerable to mistakes: "It's important that you and the fans understand that dribblers are the ones who lose the ball the most; it's natural in football. Whenever you have Cebolinha, Michael, Lino, or Plata himself , these are players who take risks in one-on-one situations and expose themselves a lot," he stated.

DIFFICULTY AGAINST CRUZEIRO

Regarding the game against Cruzeiro, the coach revealed that the strategy was to exploit Lino's duel against William, but the opponent's double marking limited the striker: " I tried hard to exploit this one-on-one, but Cruzeiro doubled the marking well , always coming two or three, it was not an easy game tactically for him", highlighted the coach.

TOTAL TRUST IN THE ATTACKER

Filipe lamented the boos and emphasized that he encourages Lino's style: " I'm the one who asks him to dribble, to go forward . When he does, he creates a huge advantage. I hope he doesn't get shaken, because it's completely normal. He has my trust and will regain the joy of playing," he concluded.

NEXT CHALLENGE

Samuel Lino will have another chance to redeem himself with the fans when Flamengo returns to the field on Sunday (5), at 6:30 pm (Brasília time), against Bahia , at Arena Fonte Nova, for the 27th round of the Brasileirão. The match will be broadcast by Premiere (pay-per-view).

After the 0-0 draw between Flamengo and Cruzeiro , this Thursday (2), at Maracanã, Léo Ortiz denied that the result was related to the team's drop in intensity. The defender highlighted that, in his view, Rubro-Negro was better precisely in the second half .

WHAT LEO ORTIZ SAID

Léo Ortiz on Flamengo's intensity: "It doesn't have much to do with intensity. There was no shortage of that"

"Sorry, I disagree. I think we had more possession in the second half . Maybe at some point in the middle they had a little more control, and it became a very exchangeable game," the defender declared.

"The first half was also similar. I don't think it had much to do with intensity . There was no shortage of that. We pressed from the first minute to the last," concluded Léo Ortiz , in the mixed zone after the match against Cruzeiro.

HOW WAS THE GAME?

Flamengo and Cruzeiro played a high-level duel, marked by intensity but lacking in scoring . Cruzeiro had two good chances to seal the victory, but couldn't find the net.

CLASSIFICATION

With the draw, Flamengo reached 55 points and maintained the lead in the Brasileirão, three ahead of Palmeiras (52) and four above Cruzeiro (51), after 26 rounds . The Mais Querido has one game less in the competition, while the alviverde has two games left.

Flamengo drew 0-0 with Cruzeiro last Thursday (2), in the 26th round of the Brasileirão. With no time to rest, the red-black squad returned this Friday (3) afternoon , at Ninho do Urubu, to begin preparations for the duel against Bahia. Training begins at 3:30 pm (Brasília time), under the command of Filipe Luís.

HOW WAS THE GAME AGAINST CRUZEIRO

In a head-to-head clash at the top of the table, Flamengo and Cruzeiro played a tight match at the Maracanã. In the first half, the Minas Gerais team closed well, preventing any major scoring chances , and threatened the red-and-black team, which was saved by Rossi and Alex Sandro.

In the second half, after Filipe Luís's changes, Cruzeiro managed to create more opportunities, but failed to break down the opposing defense , with only two significant chances. Cruzeiro also barely threatened goalkeeper Rossi.

NEXT APPOINTMENT

Flamengo returns to the field on Sunday (5), at 6:30 pm, against Bahia, at Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador. The match is valid for the 27th round of the Brasileirão. The broadcast of the confrontation is on Premiere (pay-per-view) for all of Brazil .

SITUATION IN THE TABLE

Even with the draw, Flamengo remains top of the league with 55 points. Palmeiras is second with 52, but has played one game less than Flamengo , while Cruzeiro is third with 51.