Artur George praises Potafogo's stance of not reaching the final: “It is not common sense”

The coach also explains the change of dynamic in the second half and asks to focus on the second leg despite the 5-0 victory against Peñarol.

Photo: Vitor Silva/Botafogo – Caption: Artur Jorge keeps his feet on the ground after the defeat of Potafogo / Jogada10

Potafogo's position was clear from the first half to the second half. After all, Glorioso found the net five times in the final minutes to secure victory over Peñarol in the first leg of the Libertadores semi-final. After the game, coach Arthur George briefed the players on the halftime orientation.

“First of all, thank you and congratulations for making some changes. I told you to be calm, second line players and achieve the necessary objectives,” said Artur George.

The black and white coach made it clear that the conflict is not resolved and reinforced concentration for the return match in Montevideo next week.

“We played a good game for 90 minutes, a great result. A convenient clue, but it's not common sense to think it's solved. The advantage is comforting, but the 90 minutes will demand a lot. What we took away from the game was our classification, certain positions, dynamics and the Libertadores gave a very balanced response to the result.

With this, Glorioso could lose by up to four goals next Wednesday at the Campione del Siglo in Montevideo. Río could face Atlético or River Plate.

Other excerpts from Order George's press conference:

comeback game: “Regardless of the result, we are going to have a complicated game. I consider this semi-final with two good teams, who are here on merit, with reasonable ambition. I expected nothing less than the difficulty I expected. Each of these are two teams that split up your path.

Projection: “For us it is important to reach the final, regardless of the rival. We haven't reached that point yet. Neither us nor anyone else. It's a convenient advantage we've worked hard to achieve. 90 minutes left. But what can be done is for us to be rivals in this potential final, it is not a question of generating any type of energy, we want to do our thing and win the next game in Uruguay.

Pressure: “We must control our expectations. I think the first part was a little lacking. It ended up happening more in the second half. Scoring goals helps the team take off. It is a moment of great responsibility, a historic moment for the club, the most important moments in the history of the club and we have a responsibility, but we have to enjoy the moment.

Player opportunities: “Opportunities are provided based on demand. A worn-out Whittinho had to be replaced. And it was necessary to replace Luiz, who had played a great game but was already injured and prone to seizures. And we need a little cold.”

Follow our content on social networks: Bluesky, Threads, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook..

Source link