Cuca on half-time dressing down and Atlético-MG’s cup progress | OneFootball

After a 1-0 win on Thursday over Godoy Cruz in Argentina, Atlético-MG secured their spot in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana. Despite the away win, coach Cuca revealed that a "scolding" was necessary during halftime to get the players back on track.

"The first half was a much more difficult game for us. Our opponent played more in the attacking field. We couldn't counter-attack, we couldn't create great chances in the first half. We even defended well, but we didn't create anything. At halftime, they were called out, and it was said that we needed to play more, because it was very dangerous to end up taking a goal," said Cuca said.

Galo better in the second half

In Cuca's view, Atlético-MG was better than Godoy Cruz in the second half. For him, the Galo had the best chances and could have defined the game earlier.

"We played better in the second half. We controlled the opponent, took away their most dangerous plays. They created very little due to the decrease in space we had. We scored the goal and had more opportunities, but we missed the final pass. We could have created better situations and defined the game," said the coach.

Photo: Pedro Souza / Atlético

In the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana, Atlético-MG will face Bolívar-BOL, who eliminated Cienciano in the round of 16. By playing the competition from the start, the Galo will decide the match at home.

Now, Cuca's Atlético-MG focuses on the Brazilian Championship. This Sunday, the Minas Gerais club will face São Paulo at Morumbi, at 20:30 (Brasília time).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.