[Sport] Gago, after Racing vs. Aucas: "The boys found themselves again"

[[Ty]M@g0k1l3r]

The La Academia coach highlighted the good play during "36 minutes" of the first half, the team's persistence in "wanting to play with that patience, those passes" and their attitude in the face of adversity: "Even with one less player we keep trying."

Fernando Gago spoke this Thursday at the Cilindro after Racing's laborious 3-2 victory over Aucas from Ecuador in Group A of the 2023 Copa Libertadores and analyzed the ups and downs of the game and a team that knew how to flourish but also suffer.

"It wasn't 45 minutes, it was 36 today in the first half, where we did dominate the game, we understood the game situations and the way we had to play, we changed positioning because I thought they were going to play with a line of three and we had two nines to generate pressure on those three central defenders. Obviously that's missing, yes, those for 36 minutes -I told them at halftime- we had done something very good. Then we hurriedly gave up the paths to get to the situations we wanted, we had three or four transitions, both them and us, which was not what we wanted from the game, more so with a favorable result. There are a lot of things to continue improving and consolidating the things we did well, but I think the boys found themselves with themselves", highlighted the coach.

"The first 10 minutes the game was clear, that they were going to try to start, we said it before starting in the second half, two or three errors in the first goal, from situations that we wanted something else, that we looked for and they didn't come out, and then the crossed ball, a distant free kick that I thought was not a foul. We were well positioned but perhaps we had to be a little lower for the second ball", he lamented about the plays that triggered the unexpected tie.

 

 

Right away, Gago highlighted "the way we play, that even with one less player we keep trying, looking for situations, we knew we were going to suffer a little more losses if we ended up with high-ranked people, what I value is the dedication of the team throughout the match and also the way football was played". In addition, he had to respond about his passionate celebrations: "Because of the context of the game, I had my wife and my friends on that side of the audience and it was a relief. For a large part of the game we went looking and trying to win it, in game situations, we had played a game beating the rival at times".

Later, the DT delved into his statements about the players rediscovering themselves: "They had not lost their essence, yes we had stopped, not from aggressiveness or attitude, of wanting to play, of having that patience, those passes; today we had almost 600 passes, which is something where we become strong and play, they believe in it and feel it and today during the whole game they felt it because of how they put pressure on us. And that fills me with pride because it is the path that we have to continue."

Finally, Gago warned: "Playing a Copa Libertadores motivates us regardless of who is in the group. An international tournament, which gives a lot of prestige, but we have motivation both in the Libertadores and in the championship, there are times when things do not work out but we are not going to stop insisting on the two tournaments and on the Argentine Cup as well".

 

https://www.tycsports.com/racing-club/fernando-gago-tras-racing-vs-aucas-los-chicos-se-volvieron-a-encontrar-con-ellos-mismos-id506681.html