Vasco suffered the fourth consecutive defeat in the Brasileirão. After losing to Athletico Paranaense 1-0, at the Ligga Arena, in Curitiba, Rafael Paiva, interim coach, regretted the expulsion of Hugo Moura in the 15th minute. The coach said that the steering wheel was lost due to the ball bouncing on the pitch.
Athletico-PR 1 x 0 Vasco | Best Moments | 5th round | Brasileirão 2024
— A lot of things change, it’s very difficult to predict that this will happen. These are circumstances of the game. Here, I believe any opponent will suffer a lot at the beginning of the game due to the speed of the ball, the bounce of the ball. That’s what happened too. He got a little lost in timing the ball when it bounced, and strategically you have to understand the game quickly, with one less — said Vasco’s interim coach, who added:
— We had to understand where Athletico was going to try to get a numerical advantage, but they are a very intelligent team, they moved a lot. It generated space both on the side of the field, with crosses, and balls inside, and we had to understand the game to try to balance it better. I think we suffered more in the ten, 15, 20 minutes after the expulsion, but then we managed to understand the game and we were better able to defend ourselves, especially in the second half.
Rafael Paiva bet on changes in the tactical scheme in relation to his first game at Vasco. Against Fortaleza, the Vasco team defended with three defenders and two midfielders, in a 5-2-3 formation. This Sunday, at the Ligga Arena, Vasco entered the field with a 4-3-3 formation.
— The idea was to fill the area more and balance our game more, with our offensive phase. Against Fortaleza, we had a great game. The idea was to lock the corridors, to have the area more populated. Today we needed to have greater control of the game with the 4-3-3. Defend well, but have good possession and look for attacks.
João Victor and Adson entered during the match. The defender was right-back for most of the match, when he took turns with Paulo Henrique on some climbs. Adson came on at the end of the second half, replacing David. The coach praised Vasco’s two most expensive reinforcements of the season.
— João Victor and Adson are very important players. We were seeing where to fit João Victor, he could have played against Fortaleza. Adson came in very well. Vasco is responding. You need to look for victories — said the coach.
Vasco faces Vitória next Sunday, in São Januário, at 11am. The game is valid for the sixth round of the competition.
Psychology of the squad with four consecutive defeats
— It’s a difficult time, but it’s an experienced group. They are fully aware of everything that is happening. It’s a group that works hard, there’s no shortage of work, they work at high intensity, at a high level. They search all the time. The Brazilian Championship is a very competitive championship, very difficult to play. Against Criciúma, it was a game that was a little out of the ordinary. But I believe we had a good game against Bragantino, against Fluminense. He didn’t win, that weighs heavily. We have to work, there’s nothing we can do. You have to work, organize, believe, respond against Vitória. That’s what we’re going to work to do. Try to give the answer now, look for victories and the path again. We have to be strong to get through this difficult situation.
Hugo Moura’s error and expulsion
— What happened to Hugo could have happened to any player. Hugo’s mistake was Vasco’s mistake. We have to reorganize ourselves to improve, not to see who made a mistake.
Positives and negatives of the team
— We were coming from, if I’m not mistaken, seven games in which we were conceding goals. Against Fortaleza, they managed to go one game without conceding a goal. Here, despite being one down at 15 in the first half, we defended ourselves well. It’s a positive point. We need to seek balance. Now it’s time to try to play with the ball a little more, have a clearer path to the goal, finish plays better, hurt the opponent more. I think we had that possession in the second half. We have the capacity to do it, that’s what we have to try to insist on. Continue to be firm defensively, aggressive, protect the goal well. A little balance to build a little better, refinement to try to finish the moves a little better and seek victory. These behaviors will be ignored a lot.
Start of pressure from Athletico
— We always suffer a lot at the beginning of the game here, so we put in ten, 15 minutes, we will suffer without conceding a goal to try to get into the game. And that was exactly how long we suffered, but we lost a player. We suffered practically double, until we readjusted. That took a little longer, we didn’t retain the ball. At halftime, we managed to adjust well, because we understood the way they were trying to score the goal.
Improvement in the second half
— We have the quality to play, it’s a team that has quality, likes the ball. We played in the second half, putting the ball on the floor. We could have finished the plays better, but I think we managed to keep the ball more. That’s what we have to try to take into the next game. If there’s anything good about a defeat like this, it’s how much we knew how to suffer without conceding the second goal, having possession, knowing that we have the quality to play, trying to get the goal. That’s what we’ll try to take to the next game.
Watch everything about Vasco on ge, Globo and SporTV:
Tags: Vascos interim explains system change regrets Hugo Mouras expulsion lot Vasco
--
