Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is backing Lucas Ribeiro to explode soon after experiencing a goal drought in the CAF Champions League.
Ribeiro has only scored two goals in the Champions League, which came against Mbabane Swallows in the preliminary round, and with Sundowns heading into the second leg of their semi-final against Al Ahly, questions have been asked over his form.
The Brazilian playmaker is a contender for the PSL Player of the Year Award, after scoring 13 goals and providing seven assists, while he has 16 and 11 assists across all competitions.
However, his lack of goals in the Champions League have become a cause for worry among Sundowns fans, especially after the club managed just one in their last three games, but his coach feels he has become a marked man.
Why is Ribeiro not scoring in CAF CL?
“I totally understand the question and I think it’s important to comment… after Lucas made the goals in those matches against Pirates and Chiefs, after that it was clear all the teams were worried so much about him, closing him with two or three players,” Cardoso said as quoted by iDiski Times.
“It’s made his job much more difficult and because of that we don’t see him so free on the pitch, what is important is that the team understands that when there’s two, three players on him, there’s other spaces on the pitch that should be used, we should relate to that.
“Also, himself, he should understand when he receives so much pressure, he should release the ball and let the others play, so that he can position himself in order to find spaces and play.”
Cardoso is backing the Brazilian to find his best form soon, comparing him to a tomato sauce bottle that looks to be empty yet produces a lot when least expected.
Cardoso expects Brazilian ace to explode
“Lucas and other players in the team are players who can make the difference, in the decisive moments these players should inspire and bring the individuality they can bring for the service of the team,” he added.
“Lucas will be like the ketchup, when you start asking [and hitting the bottle] for it to go out and then suddenly boof! It comes a lot more than it’s supposed to.
“I think that will come naturally for Lucas because he’s working normally, so I just think he can be stable enough to make that moment arrive and appear. Football is like that, as you said – it’s important we can move forward.”
Cardoso will hope that Ribeiro can explode in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Al Ahly in Cairo next Friday when they need to win for a place in the final after a goalless draw in the first leg at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
