Cruzeiro had the opportunity to come out as winners against rivals Atlético Mineiro on Sunday, but Willian saw his stoppage-time penalty being saved by Víctor, with game finishing 1-1.
However, newly appointed Cruzeiro boss Mano Menezes cited the likes of Zico, Platini and Baggio, and refused to put the blame on Willian for his missed penalty. Left-back Eugenio Mena was sent-off early in the second-half, and Mano believes his team could’ve won the game had he not seen red. Mano said: “We had three penalty takers, and the three trained yesterday. One of them demanded, and was the player who scored Cruzeiro’s goal in the game and he won the penalty, so he took it. Psychologically, he was well prepared, as he had a very good day. But, Zico missed… Platini missed, and Baggio missed. Today, it’s his error.”
He added: “Our defense had a very good performance. If we look at the game, Atlético failed to work the ball in our area, just crosses, because they had one player more on the sides. Our defensive system was brilliant. If it was 11 against 11, this defensive support would’ve given us a great opportunity to come out as winners.”
Cruzeiro had the opportunity to come out as winners against rivals Atlético Mineiro on Sunday, but Willian saw his stoppage-time penalty being saved by Víctor, with game finishing 1-1.
However, newly appointed Cruzeiro boss Mano Menezes cited the likes of Zico, Platini and Baggio, and refused to put the blame on Willian for his missed penalty. Left-back Eugenio Mena was sent-off early in the second-half, and Mano believes his team could’ve won the game had he not seen red. Mano said: “We had three penalty takers, and the three trained yesterday. One of them demanded, and was the player who scored Cruzeiro’s goal in the game and he won the penalty, so he took it. Psychologically, he was well prepared, as he had a very good day. But, Zico missed… Platini missed, and Baggio missed. Today, it’s his error.”
He added: “Our defense had a very good performance. If we look at the game, Atlético failed to work the ball in our area, just crosses, because they had one player more on the sides. Our defensive system was brilliant. If it was 11 against 11, this defensive support would’ve given us a great opportunity to come out as winners.”
