Dorival Júnior rebuffs selection criticism after Flamengo held by Ceará | OneFootball

Flamengo manager Dorival Júnior defended his rotation policy in the wake of Sunday’s disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Ceará.

With Palmeiras drawing 2-2 with Bragantino on Saturday, Flamengo were given a golden chance to cut the deficit between themselves and the Brasileirão leaders.

That didn’t persuade Júnior to deviate from this plan to start the likes of Arturo Vidal, Pedro and Éverton Ribeiro on the bench as he manages his squad on both the domestic and Copa Libertadores fronts.

Veteran striker Jô gave the visitors the lead on the stroke of half time at the Maracanã before Gabriel Barbosa levelled for the Rubro-Negro not long after the break.

Flamengo looked heavy favourites to win when Jô was sent off just after the hour mark, but the Mengão failed to make their numerical advantage count and had the added setback of having Barbosa dismissed in stoppage time in a game that veered out of control due to some dubious refereeing.

“We do not change our behavior and we will not change,” Júnior stated in his post-match press conference.

“Everyone says that we already have a defined situation and that we can think of another way, but I don’t agree. I think in football we can never be sure. We have to have security and conscience.

“The team that went to the field was a team capable of playing a great game. We faced a defined and strong marking, this was warned, but they were very happy in the first half.

“We didn’t have the same dynamics that we had on other occasions. We needed to change. We came back to the second half in another way and in another posture.

“We tied right at the beginning and we had a good volume, we created opportunities. We have to respect when that happens, take all the lessons possible and we must continue working as usual.”

The result keeps Flamengo seven points behind Palmeiras in the league, as thoughts now turn to defending the 4-0 lead to hold over Vélez Sarsfield ahead of Wednesday’s Libertadores semi-final second leg.