Ahead of Wednesday nights Copa Sul-Americana semifinal second leg between São Paulo and Universidad Católica, São Paulo star Lucas Moura has told the opposition defenders that they “will not intimidate me”.
Lucas, 20, who will move to Paris St-Germain in January for around €45 million, was targeted by the Chilean defenders in the first leg and was on the receiving end of some hard tackles which went unpunished by the Ecuadorian referee Omar Ponce.
“They tried everything,” the young striker is quoted as saying by Globo Esporte.
“At one point I took a slap in the face and fell to the ground. While the doctor has not arrived, they started kicking me without being noticed.
“In the South American game, it is normal for this to happen. But I am ready for another. If they think that will intimidate me, you are mistaken. This will not succeed. The more they hit me, the more I get going.”
São Paulo captain Rogério Ceni was not impressed with the referee’s performance in the during.
“The referee left Lucas catch. The tackle Denilson took was criminal. As I said, games like this are important so that we can adapt to what lies ahead in the Libertadores.”
With the game poised at 1-1, Lucas knows São Paulo are favourites.
“There is no way we can deny it. We know our qualities and we have to go to prove we are favourite’s on the pitch.”
