Nicolás Otamendi made his Atlético Mineiro debut yesterday during their derby fixture against Cruzeiro and received praise from head coach Paulo Autuori.
Autuori spoke with reporters after his sides 0-0 draw with their rivals and said tactically the new loan star was excellent.
Lance quoted the Atlético manager who said: “Otamendi came in and played at a high competitive level, he was excellent with his tactical reading.
“He did a workout with us and did what they are accustomed to do.
“We as a team, we are very strong now.”
Autuori also revealed that he was slightly surprised that Otamendi slotted into the starting eleven so smoothly.
He added: “A man of the experience he has, it seems like he has played in this team for while.
“Today, sooner than we thought, we have a strong defensive system.”
A clean sheet on his debut was nearly the perfect start for Otamendi, he’ll now hope to help his side win on Wednesday when they face União Recreativa dos Trabalhadores in the State Championship.
