The coach of flamenco, Victor Pereirablamed his team’s shocking 3-2 loss against the al hilal of Saudi Arabia in the semifinal of Club World Cup Tuesday’s arbitration, according to the Portuguese coach, was unilateral.
Al Hilal prevailed thanks to two penalties from Salem Al Dawsari and a point-blank shot from Luciano Vietto in the second half that reduced Flamengo to 10 men after midfielder Gerson conceded a second penalty and was sent off in stoppage time from the first part.
“We are ready to play against Al Hilal, but we are not ready for refereeing that does not reach the standards of the competition,” Pereira told a news conference in Tangier on Tuesday. “There was a huge lack of judgement, it provoked the refereeing and if it wasn’t for the personality of our players, I’m convinced we would have finished the game with more red cards.”
Pereira suggested that the referee has different criteria for yellow cards. Flamengo saw four yellow cards in the first half and three in the second, while Al Hilal only received three. “He was allowed,” Pereira said. “Al Hilal’s only goal attempts in the first half were from penalties. So if the game had finished 11-11, we would have been better.
Al Hilal’s coach, Ramón Díaz, disagreed with Pereira, saying the penalties were well called by the referee. “Flamengo was surprised by our quality and how mentally and strategically prepared we are,” Díaz said at a press conference. “They didn’t expect us to change our scheme from 4-3-3 to 4-4-1-1, with Luciano Vietto as attacking midfielder.” “Vietto was brilliant, he took both penalties and scored a great goal.”
Al Hilal, the first Saudi team to reach the Club World Cup final, will face Real Madrid in Rabat this Wednesday against Al Ahly.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
