Technical Director Renato Paiva acknowledged that his Devils had very good moments in the match against Sporting Kansas City, but there were also periods of irregularity so the work must continue to improve and correct, facing the first round of direct elimination of the Leagues Cup 2024.
“There were some very good moments on our part, there were other moments when we disconnected, this irregularity does not leave me so calm because it is true that we are just starting the season but we already have some time and seriously there are things here that we have to correct, punctually, because we have very good peaks in the game but then we disconnect or also because of the merits of the adversary and we suffered a little, especially in the last 15 minutes when we dropped,” said the Portuguese in a press conference.
He considered that the Devils offered “a display of high quality at some moments that were actually very good. The second goal was an extraordinary play on our part, we have others. Defensively we entered very well, not even allowing Kansas to have opportunities, but then you disconnect there and Kansas’ goal is a loss of the ball on our part where we cannot lose balls, and these are moments of disconnection that we will have to correct,” he insisted.
In this sense, he considered that his team is making progress: “We are undefeated in the championship and in the Leagues Cup, but these are things that can change at any moment because we are not playing alone, but it is true that we are doing our job. Whenever we play there is a lot to improve, a lot to correct and that is our job.”
Toluca will now face Houston Dynamo in the next round, and Paiva is confident that they can continue to offer good performances and aspire to advance from the tie, because despite the changes in his 11, the team maintains a good performance, and he explained that he has had to make those changes for physical, tactical and technical reasons.
“It is the best compliment that when you change and move, the team does not lose an idea of the game, which is the idea that we are working on. What worries me most is that whoever plays understands in his position what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and that then connects into a collective, which for me is the most important part and the one that worries me the most.”
On Federico Pereira’s injury, he commented: “There’s something wrong with his knee, but it’s impossible to know what it is right now. We’ll have to wait a few days for the swelling to go away and for tests to be done to determine what’s wrong. He’s in a lot of pain, but we have to wait. He’s obviously very sad. The group is with him and now he has to do what he has to do. He’s a champion, he’s a great player, but he’s still an older person and that’s going to help him a lot no matter what happens.”
