Santos haven’t had a whole week to work since the start of August and they’ve played 15 matches in 49 days with the latest being on Sunday, a 3-1 victory against Internacional.
Worn out due to the club’s busy schedule, Lucas Lima and Gabriel Barbosa revealed that they played with pain in the win over Inter on Sunday at the Vila Belmiro. The result took Santos to 43 points in the Brasileirão table. Lucas Lima felt the problem early in the first-half and he was seen putting his hands on the back of his right thigh before having a small chat with coach Dorival Júnior. Even with pain, Lucas decided to stay on the pitch until the final stages of the match and was replaced by Serginho. He was quoted in Globo Esporte: “Worn out? I’m used to it. In this match, I played with pain in the second-half. I felt a pain, but I decided to stay. Let’s see what will happen.”
Gabigol, who scored Santos’ second goal from the spot, said: “I mostly am playing with pain. Lucas also played with some pain today. We are fighting. Of course we have two championships to compete. We have to stay calm.”