Rogério Ceni: Flamengo's style 'harmed' by conditions at Juventude 🌧 | OneFootball

Rogério Ceni hit out at both the playing surface and officiating after Flamengo suffered a surprise loss to Juventude on Sunday.

The pitch certainly had a major part to play in the decisive moment of the match in the 25th minute.

Matheuzinho’s pass to Gustavo Henrique was halted by the waterlogged turf at the Estádio Alfredo Jaconi, allowing Matheus Peixoto to latch on and rifle home from 25 yards.

The combination of mitigating factors left Ceni less than impressed.

“We played on a field where we watched the games a lot, a field that was changed the turf very recently and offered good conditions,” the Rubro-Negro boss said.

“Unfortunately it rained a lot since yesterday here in Caxias and the field held the ball a lot, and our characteristic of possession of the ball and good passes was greatly harmed.

“So, in the first half, we had to change the game characteristics because the pitch doesn’t allow the exchange of passes.

“The goal we concede is a ball that stops in the water and allows the shot from outside the area.

“But under normal game conditions, we were fully able to keep control of the game and win.”

Ceni was also critical of how the game was handled, accusing the referee of “stopping” play “too much”.

It marked the second defeat in Flamengo’s first five games of the Brasileirão campaign, leaving them ninth in the table.