Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes has come under a bit of criticism for his performance in Brazil’s defeat to Colombia last night.
The 25-year-old center-back earned just his fifth cap for Brazil yesterday, but unfortunately for him, it ended in defeat. Gabriel didn’t do a lot wrong, but it wasn’t his best game either.
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes gets criticized by its own country media
As they usually do, Brazil went into the game at the Estadio Metropolitan as the favorites,
But it was Colombia who were by far the better team.
The hosts had 23 shots at goal, 10 of which were on target. If it wasn’t for Alisson Becker‘s saves, Colombia would’ve sealed the game much earlier than they did.
Gabriel started at the back alongside skipper Marquinhos. Both players were really exposed, with the midfielders in front of them not doing a good job at all.
The Arsenal defender, overall, had a decent game, but there were a couple of moments where he should’ve done much better.
One of them was when Man of the Match Luis Diaz levelled the game in the 75th minute. Globo Esports have criticized Gabriel for his role in the goal.
He wasn’t too bad
They gave him a 5/10 rating and wrote: “Like Marquinhos,
He (Gabriel) was exposed and even managed in the first half, but succumbed in the final stage.
“In the first goal, he was unbalanced and was unable to cut.”
A 5/10 rating is a bit harsh for the way Gabriel played last night.
He had 84 touches of the ball and completed 71 of his 76 attempted passes, maintaining a very impressive 93 per cent passing accuracy.
He also won four out of six duels, made a tackle and two clearances and wasn’t dribbled past once in the entire game (SofaScore).
Yes, the £27 million (Sky Sports) Brazilian could’ve been better in some moments and
It was definitely not one of his best games, but he wasn’t awful either – many of his teammates were much worse.
Up next for Brazil is the big game against Argentina. It will be interesting to see if Gabriel will keep his place for the clash against Lionel Messi and co.
