Seabra says what to expect from Cruzeiro in the Sul-Americana

Seabra says what to expect from Cruzeiro in the Sul-Americana < No Attack

Seabra liked what he saw in Cruzeiro’s 3-0 victory over Alianza
(photo: Gustavo Aleixo/Cruzeiro)

Cruzeiro’s first victory in the South American Championship rekindled the flame of hope for direct qualification to the round of 16. The 3-0 victory over Alianza, this Tuesday (7/5), in Colombia, in the fourth round, left coach Fernando Seabra quite optimistic about the chance of celestial advancement.

In an interview after the game at the Armando Maestre Pavajeau Stadium, in Valledupar, Seabra said what Cruzeiro fans can expect from Raposa in the next two matches. The team showed great improvement in relation to the frustrating draws in the first round of Group B.

“Without a doubt, we owed this result (victory). Our current scenario is that each game is a decision, so that we only depend on ourselves to seek classification and, eventually, fight for first place in the group”.
– Fernando Seabra, Cruzeiro coach.

“We are focused in this sense, knowing that we allowed ourselves to start in a very unfavorable position in the group and it is up to us to respond. It’s game by game, each game is now a decision”, he added.

Cruzeiro’s performance against Alianza convinced

Cruzeiro sought victory away from home from the first minutes, when they almost opened the scoring with a shot from defender Zé Ivaldo. It was up to Lucas Silva, in the last play of the opening stage, to put the Celestial team in advantage. However, the miners only managed to completely dominate their opponent in the final stage.

When the break came back, Arthur Gomes’ star shone. At 4′, the striker took advantage of a rebound from a great play by Rafa Silva, who dribbled past two opposing defenders in the area, and sent it into the right corner of goalkeeper Grazziani.

After that, Cruzeiro only controlled the game in midfield and suffered little in defense. Seabra’s team had 58% possession of the ball, compared to 42% for Alianza. The shots were also more voluminous: 15 against 11, with four on target for each.

Led by the duo Zé Ivaldo and João Marcelo – who together were only leaked on one occasion -, Cruzeiro’s defense also remained on the field. There were 15 tackles from the visitors against just two from the home team.

At the end of the match, Rafael Elias shot from outside the area and had a deflection in the Alianza defense to score a great goal and give final figures to the international duel.

The result took Raposa to second place in Group B, with six points, but could be overtaken at the end of the round. To definitively take second place, the team led by Seabra needs to hope for a draw or defeat for Unión La Calera (3rd, with four) against Universidad Católica (leader, with seven), this Thursday (9/5), at 11pm, at Olímpico Atahualpa, in Quito, Ecuador.