After the victory against Estudiantes with one player down, River's head coach analyzed the semifinal series and warned about the strengths of the Brazilian team
After the valuable victory against Estudiantes, Marcelo Gallardo did not remain in celebration and quickly set his sights on the great challenge ahead: the matchup with Palmeiras for the Copa Libertadores.
In the press conference following the match in La Plata, the coach of River analyzed what is coming next and agreed with Enzo Pérez in emphasizing that the Brazilian team doesn't feel superior: "When two representative teams face each other in the Copa Libertadores, they are also thinking about our potential."
Gallardo anticipated that "it will be a close series" and clarified that under no circumstances "will it be decided in the first match." In that regard, he expressed confidence that River will achieve a favorable result in the first leg at the Monumental to approach the return match with greater peace of mind.
Meanwhile, looking ahead to the clash in Núñez, Muñeco highlighted which aspects his team must consider and pointed out a strength of the squad led by Abel Ferreira: "A team like Palmeiras defends very well, has physical presence, strong players who do not need much possession to score. It is a direct team that can create danger. We have to be very alert to that."
Finally, aware of the difficulty of the challenge, Gallardo called for maximum concentration and intensity: "We have to play with a great deal of intelligence and with the presence we saw today. If we are in that mindset, we will be fine."
The first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals between Millonario and Verdao will be played on Wednesday, September 17 at 9:30 p.m. at the Más Monumental.
This will be the first meeting between the two since 2020, the edition in which they faced each other in the semifinals. Back then, the Brazilians secured their place in the grand final after winning 3-0 in the first leg in Argentina and holding on by the narrowest margin in the return with a 2-0 defeat in Brazil.