Abel Ferreira left the Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi, proud. According to the Portuguese coach, the Palmeiras players were brave in the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final, decided only in the 12th minute of the second half of extra time.
“I don’t want to talk about the result. We lost. It’s to congratulate those who won”, said the commander. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We lost to a great team, in a game of details. So I’m very proud of my players.”
The coach noted that the championship held by Palmeiras in the United Arab Emirates was much better than last year’s. In the previous edition, in Qatar, the team lost its two matches and had the worst campaign by a South American in the history of the tournament.
This time, the green and white team defeated the Egyptian Al Ahly, opponent by which he had been surpassed in the 2020 World Cup (disputed in 2021). At the 2021 World Cup (played in 2022), it only stopped at Chelsea, European champions full of technical athletes.
“We were able to support their individual quality, attack the opponent, matching the actions with collective play. But the game was decided in one detail. So, I will congratulate my players. I am a proud man to be their coach”, he declared.
The detail mentioned by Abel was the penalty at the end of the match. Australian referee Chris Beath did not immediately see any irregularities in the play, but was called to watch it on video and saw that Luan blocked Azpilicueta’s kick with his arm.
“A game like this is difficult because they are punctual. We could have arrived at the beginning of the game, in the chances we had, and made the game different. They are punctual throws. And they ended up scoring more goals than us”, said Raphael Veiga.
“We have to value everything you’ve done to get here. Of course, we wanted to win, but it’s not easy to get here and play as equals against a team that was the best or is the best in Europe. , we leave sad, but with our heads held high”, concluded the midfielder.
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