The coach of flamenco, Victor Pereirablamed his team’s surprising 3-2 defeat against al hilal of Saudi Arabia in the semifinal of the Club World Cup arbitration on Tuesday, which according to the Portuguese coach, was unilateral.
Al Hilal prevailed thanks to two penalties from Salem Al Dawsari and a point-blank shot from Luciano Vietto in a second half that saw Flamengo down to 10 men after midfielder Gerson conceded the second penalty and was sent off in stoppage time from the first part.
“We were ready to play against Al Hilal, but we were not ready for refereeing that was not up to the standards of the competition,” Pereira told a news conference in Tangier on Tuesday. “There was a great lack of judgment, it was provocative arbitration and if it weren’t for the personality of our players, I am convinced that we would have finished the game with more red cards.”
Pereira suggested that the referee had different criteria for the yellow cards. Flamengo saw four yellow cards in the first half and three in the second, while Al Hilal only received three. “He was permissive,” Pereira said. “Al Hilal’s only goal attempts in the first half were from penalties. So if the game ended 11-11, we were better.
Al Hilal’s coach, Ramón Díaz, disagreed with Pereira, saying that the penalties were well called by the referee. “Flamengo was surprised by our quality and how prepared we were mentally and strategically,” Díaz said at a press conference. “They didn’t expect us to change our scheme from 4-3-3 to 4-4-1-1, with Luciano Vietto as the attacking midfielder.” “Vietto was brilliant, he caused both penalties and scored a great goal.”
Al Hilal, the first Saudi team to reach the Club World Cup final, will face Real Madrid in Rabat this Wednesday against Al Ahly.
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