Luís Castro expressed visible dissatisfaction with Grêmio's performance in away games, labeling the team as "struggling." The 1-2 defeat against Vasco da Gama at São Januário marked the fourth consecutive game without victories as visitors in the Brasileirão, thus failing to close the gap to the top spots in the table. The goal for Grêmio was scored by former Benfica player Carlos Vinícius. So far, as visitors, the team has only accumulated one point, earned from a draw against Chapecoense. The performance in the eighth round of the championship was far from ideal, with individual displays below expectations, such as those of Balbuena and Tetê, who were substituted at halftime. In the press conference after the match, the Portuguese coach did not hide his frustration. "Grêmio, away from home, has been a struggling team that has not had the scoring effectiveness it should have and does not correspond to what it does at home. While at home we are in second place in the table, away we are at the bottom. There is no way to hide the reality," evaluated Luís Castro. The coach also lamented the missed opportunities and the mistakes made. "Today we had Enamorado in front of goal and we had Braithwaite. If that happens positively, we would be saying that finally, with exactly the same game, Grêmio found the right path to success away from home. We were penalized for our defensive and offensive errors and for many technical failures in terms of passing throughout the game," he stated. The Portuguese coach believes that the break for international commitments will be beneficial. "The break is important for mental rest, fundamentally for mental rest, it has been an enormous strain," he concluded. Grêmio's squad will now have three days off. The next game is scheduled for the early hours of April 2-3 – Portugal continental time – against Palmeiras, counting for the ninth round of the Brasileirão.
Benfica Vasco da Gama remains central to this story.
Benfica Vasco da Gama remains central to this story.
Read more in Serie A news. and related tags: Benfica, Vasco da Gama.