Filipe Luís on Flamengo’s struggle in Ceará draw: “Never easy…” | OneFootball

Despite having more possession and shots, Flamengo couldn't hold the advantage against Ceará, and Filipe Luís lamented the drop in intensity

Flamengo drew 1-1 with Ceará, this Sunday (03), for the 18th round of the Brazilian Championship. Despite opening the scoring and dominating ball possession for most of the match, the Rubro-Negro ended up suffering from the opponent's reaction in the second half, which resulted in the draw. Shortly after the end, Filipe Luís lamented the team's drop in intensity and concentration, however, highlighting the difficulties in maintaining control in the face of the strong marking of the Ceará team.

— Are you talking about shots at goal or on goal? On goal is accuracy. The team kept shooting, creating. I wouldn't say we wanted to defend the result. On the contrary. We tried to keep proposing the game. The opponent changed their system, started to play long balls behind us, some corners. So, these plays were taking our team back, we had difficulty getting out -, he began, before completing:

— I will review it later, but we really lowered our level of concentration and intensity in the second half and we had this difficulty to dominate the game again. Ended up suffering the goal. We tried, but it's not easy to play against a team that closes so much. But in the end, the draw remained and, as I said, with a bitter taste -, he concluded.

DID FLAMENGO DOMINATE THE GAME?

According to data from the statistical site 'Sofascore', Flamengo had 69% of ball possession, against only 31% of Ceará. In addition, it shot more times: 14 against 9. However, even with the wide dominance of actions, the rubro-negro team could not turn the superiority on the field into victory.

WHAT IS FLAMENGO'S NEXT GAME?

Now, the focus of Flamengo turns to the Copa do Brasil. This Wednesday (06), the team faces Atlético-MG, at Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte, for the return match of the round of 16. As they lost the first leg at Maracanã by 1 to 0, the Rubro-Negro will need to score at least two goals difference to advance to the quarterfinals in regular time. If they win by one goal, the decision goes to penalties.

Given the need, Filipe Luís' team will have to be more efficient in attack and turn the volume of play into goals. The pressure is high, and the match promises to be decisive for the rest of the season. As always, the Coluna do Fla follows everything closely and keeps the supporter rubro-negro informed about every detail of the match.

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