John Textor had a smile last night at the Lumen Field in Seattle. Qualified for the 2025 club World Cup thanks to its coronation in Copa Libertadores, Botafogo started the competition well by winning 2 goals to 1 against the Seattle Sounders. A success built in the first period thanks to achievements signed Jair Cunha and Igor Jesus. Questioned at the end of the match, Coach Renato Paiva was necessarily delighted to see his team for the top of the group B rankings with PSG (3 points). However, the Portuguese technician conceded that his players had not really made the match of their lives against the CONCAF Champions League in 2022.
“In the first half, we did not start very well, losing easy balloons, making technical errors. We did not start very well, but during the first half, we took control of the match. The first goal put us at ease, and we had two other opportunities, one by Igor and the other by such, where we could have scored more goals, and Seattle did not have many opportunities. In the second half, we have dropped a lot on the physical level, in my opinion. We could not face the aggressiveness and the intensity that our opponents put in the game. The replacements did not work very well, in particular that of Correa, which comes out of a rest period and to whom we wanted to give these minutes of competition. In fact, on a defensive level, we felt like we were attacking with too many people and not defending with the same number of players. »» And if Paiva has pointed out the defensive feverishness of his team, it is not for nothing.
«May God have mercy on Botafogo»
At a time when the world press has been amazed by the demonstration of Paris Saint-Germain against Atlético de Madrid (4-0), the coach of the Brazilian club wanted to warn his players. Clearly, if Botafogo is also feverish behind the European champions next Friday (at 3 a.m. French time, editor's note), the Fogão will live a dirty evening. “The corrections will have to be made on video, because it's three days and we have to make these corrections while most players are recovering. You really have to look at what happened, it should obviously not happen to an opponent like PSG (…) The fact of not having the ball also led us to this kind of situation. In fact, we had to be very careful when we watched the PSG match today, it's a big team, a very strong team, they have a big way to play and attack. It is a defensively aggressive team, but it also has its moments and leaves its opponents a few moments to attack and have the ball. (…) So we will work on this point, in anticipation of a very difficult opponent, where we will have to be much better, much more skillful and make the evening almost perfect to face Paris Saint-Germain. »»
In the meantime, Botafogo supporters are not particularly optimistic. On social networks, many called to God to help their team. “May God have mercy on Botafogo. This PSG does not play football. This is something from another planet. »» ” My friend. This PSG team is all that and much more. An absolutely dominant team technically, tactically and physically. Be careful Botafogo! »» “And when the turn of Botafogo comes, they face the best PSG in history … What is this thing?” »» “May God have mercy on Botafogo because PSG will not have”are some examples of posts from Brazilian Internet users already fearing the worst for the team of John Textor. Verdict Friday at night.
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