(photo: Alexandre Guzanshe/EM/DA.Press)
O Athletic had another convincing performance by beating Sport 2-0, this Tuesday (30/4), at Arena MRV, in the first game of the third phase of the Copa do Brasil. In addition to the goals of Zaracho It is Guilherme Arana, Galo had two goals disallowed due to an offside position – one by Gustavo Scarpa, in the first half, and another by Eduardo Vargas, in the final stage. The score was not more elastic because goalkeeper Caíque França, from the Pernambuco team, stood out with great saves.
The performance of the team coached by Gabriel Milito filled the eyes of a Libertadores champion for the black and white club. Today a commentator for SporTV, the former left-back Richarlyson praised the alternatives created by the Argentine commander, such as the option for midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia in defense.
“I am very impressed by Milito’s boldness in bringing Battaglia to play with the defenders and Saravia. Milito likes breadth, speed and quality. Then he brings players who not only score, but also have incredible game play and tactical intelligence”, assessed the starter in Galo’s continental conquest in 2013.
The analyst Pass Exchange praised the importance of the Argentines Zaracho, Battaglia and Saravia for communication with Milito. “This issue of the coach being Argentine and having players from the country brings a different kind of confidence. He can talk to them differently in the sense of ‘look, I’m here, I need you, you’ve been here longer than me, so help me understand the context’”.
Finally, Richarlyson said that Galo will fight for the trophy in all competitions. “There is a squad that, since last year, we have been saying is a squad, along with Palmeiras and Flamengo, to compete for all the titles. So, yes, especially at this moment, Atlético has demonstrated that it is a strong team. There’s a strong squad to fight for everything.”
Military at Atlético
Hired on March 24 to replace Luiz Felipe Scolari, Milito played ten games for Atlético. There are seven wins and three draws, with 23 goals scored and eight conceded. Athletes such as midfielder Otávio, playmaker Gustavo Scarpa and striker Paulinho improved their performance thanks to the tactical changes promoted by the former Barcelona and Argentina defender.
In the Mineiro final, the coach led the team to a 3-1 victory over Cruzeiro at Mineirão. Gabriel had a good reading of the game, taking the team forward as soon as he managed to equalize, with a header from Saravia, and reinforcing the defense after achieving the turnaround, with a penalty converted by Hulk. Galo also scored the third in a counterattack led by Paulinho and completed by Scarpa.
Atlético also started well in the Copa Libertadores, with victories against Caracas-VEN (4-1), Rosario Central-ARG (2-1) and Peñarol-URU (3-2), and the Brazilian Championship, in which they are runners-up. -leader, with eight points. The black and white team drew with Corinthians (0 to 0) and Criciúma (1 to 1) and beat Cruzeiro and Cuiabá (both 3 to 0).
