Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has defended his under-pressure star Lucas Ribeiro who is currently struggling to score.
The 26-year-old Brazilian last scored on March 5 in the Premier Soccer League assignment with Golden Arrows that ended 1-1. Since then, he has not scored in the seven consecutive outings; as a matter of fact, he has not even provided an assist in the last six games.
Ribeiro and his fellow attackers failed to register even a single shot on target as the defending Premier Soccer League champions played to a goalless draw with Al Ahly in the first leg of the Caf Champions League semi-final phase staged at Loftus Versfeld Stadium last weekend.
Cardoso insists Ribeiro is not making a desired impact because he is tightly marked by the opponents.
‘We don't see Ribeiro so free on the pitch'
“I totally understand the question, and I think it’s important to comment, because after Lucas [Ribeiro] made the goal, [in] the matches against [Orlando] Pirates and then [Kaizer] Chiefs, all the teams were worried so much about him. By closing him with two to three players over him, it made his job much more difficult,” the former Esperance coach stated.
“Because of that, we don’t see him so free on the pitch. What is important is that the team understands that when there are two or three players over him, there are other spaces on the pitch that should be used, and we should relate to that.
“He should also understand that if he receives so much pressure, he should release the ball and let the other ones play, so that then he can position himself to find the spaces and play,” Cardoso concluded.
Cardoso hopes his men will rise to the occasion on Friday in the second leg against the defending champions at the Cairo International Stadium.
