Varela talks about renewing his contract with Flamengo: “this…”

After Flamengo's 1-0 victory over Internacional in the Copa Libertadores, Emerson Royal gave an interview to explain the moment he was booed by the fans at Maracanã . The right-back, substituted in the second half due to a sprained left ankle, explained his drop in performance by saying he tried to stay on the field to help the team, despite the pain, and apologized to the fans who felt this ended up hurting the team.

Emerson Royal on boos at Flamengo vs Internacional: "I'm not a robot"

"The fans have the right to do so. If I can't perform at 100%, they have the right to demand it. At the beginning of the game, I sprained my ankle, which affected my performance. I couldn't run, jump, or change direction, and that made things a bit more difficult," he explained.

TRUST INTACT

The player emphasized that the situation didn't shake his confidence, but that he understands the reaction from the stands: " I understand their side, and I hope they understand mine too, because I'm not a robot . I tried my best to help Flamengo . If, in any way, this wasn't accepted or ended up hurting things, I apologize. My goal has always been to contribute to the team," he added.

Despite suffering an ankle injury early on, Emerson was active in the opening minutes and was a key offensive weapon until the 10th minute. After a second ankle injury, his performance declined. He finished the match with one interception, one tackle, and three defensive duels won . With possession, he completed 30 of 33 passes and was unsuccessful on both crossing attempts. The determining factor for his drop in pace, according to the athlete, was his physical limitations.

'IT'S AWAY FROM MY PRINCIPLES,' SAYS EMERSON ABOUT ASKING FOR A REPLACEMENT

The full-back emphasized that he doesn't usually ask to leave the field right at the start of a match, as he prefers to "fight until the end." Emerson said that, at halftime, he even asked for a substitution to try to return for the second half , but the possibility of a worsening performance led Filipe Luís to opt for Guillermo Varela to come on.

"Two minutes into the game and raising my hand to request a substitution isn't my style. It's against my principles, and I'll try until the end. I asked the doctor at halftime for something—an injection, anything—because I wanted to help Flamengo in the second half . But we decided it wasn't the best option, as my performance could suffer even further. At first, I was fine, but the pain worsened and began to limit my ability to change direction, sprint, and even jump," he concluded.

Coach Roger Machado left Maracanã with a different view of Flamengo's 1-0 victory over Internacional in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores Round of 16. Despite Flamengo's extensive possession and numerous chances , the coach stated that Flamengo controlled the match and already projected a different return leg, banking on home advantage and the team's poise.

Roger Machado on the game at Beira-Rio: "Flamengo will use their advantage, denying us our field"

"I'll analyze the game later; I can't make a quick diagnosis. The first-half strategy partially worked because we didn't take good care of the ball. We'll correct the set pieces and make adjustments. At home, playing the way we do, we'll be in a different position . Flamengo will use their advantage, denying us space and looking for the back of the defense. We'll need to have our defensive process and transition control very well adjusted to avoid counterattacks," said Roger Machado.

SECOND HALF MAY BE A SIGN

The coach expects a game more similar to the second half at Maracanã, when Inter had more possession and had more shots than Flamengo (4-2), although without creating many chances. The team's quick possession in the first 20 minutes of the second half was favored by the opponent's passing errors , but Colorado was unable to replicate its dominance of the first half. Flamengo even had a clear chance with Luiz Araújo, saved by Rochet, and evened the scoreline late on.

HINDSIGHT INDICATES THE OPPOSITE

Despite Roger's interpretation, Flamengo is unlikely to adopt a strategy of sitting back and exploiting counterattacks at Beira-Rio, at least initially. The team's hallmark is imposing its style of play on the road as well. In its last three away matches—against Atlético-MG, Ceará, and Red Bull Bragantino— Flamengo had more possession and shots on goal , earning two wins and a draw in regulation time, despite being eliminated from the Copa do Brasil.

The season's record reinforces this trend: 13 wins, six draws and only two losses away from home, with 33 goals scored and 10 conceded . The first proof of this test comes this Sunday (17) when Flamengo goes to Porto Alegre to face Internacional, but this time for the 20th round of the Brazilian Championship. The match will be at 6:30 pm (Brasília time) at Beira-Rio.

Flamengo completely dominated the first half, but showed a drop in performance in the second half in the 1-0 victory over Internacional , this Wednesday (13), at Maracanã, in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Libertadores . For coach Filipe Luís, the explanation is simple: individual technical errors.

Filipe Luís on Flamengo's second half: "We didn't come back different, but Inter came back"

"The first half was excellent. The game plan worked perfectly, and we had plenty of scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we only scored one goal and maintained our lead. We didn't come back any different, but Inter did. I believe a lot of it was due to individual technical errors, which took away our dominance and control ," the coach assessed.

Filipe explained that the mistakes caused the team to become disorganized and open up more than necessary: "These errors forced us to run more, to transition, and to leave the team spaced out. Every time we recovered the ball, we were extremely defensive , lacking the patience to establish our structure . We couldn't reorganize, and this dragged on until the end. Even so, we created clear scoring chances," he added.

Despite the drop in performance, the coach emphasized that the opponent barely threatened and that the advantage, although minimal, keeps the tie open: " Inter didn't create any chances, we had more . We went 1-0 up and we're going with that small advantage. Nothing is decided; it's completely open. We're going into the second leg to win," he concluded.

HOW WAS THE GAME?

Flamengo suffocated Internacional in the first half, opening the scoring in the 27th minute when Bruno Henrique headed in a corner kick from Luiz Araújo . The lead could have been greater, as the team had eight shots before halftime. In the second half, that number dropped to just two shots.

NEXT APPOINTMENT

Before the return of the Libertadores, Flamengo and Internacional meet again in the Brasileirão. The duel takes place this Sunday (17), at 6:30 pm (Brasília time) , at Beira-Rio, in Porto Alegre, for the 20th round. Mengão is the leader of the competition with 40 points. Colorado is in 11th place.