Luqueño Coach Analyzes Defeat, Stresses Long Season Ahead

Following Sportivo Luqueño's tough 2-1 defeat against Cerro Porteño at the Estadio La Nueva Olla, head coach Hernán Rodrigo López addressed the team's performance in a press conference.

López reflected on the past week, which saw his team secure three points out of a possible nine. He admitted that while the team had hoped for more, they are focused on moving forward. "We would have liked to get some more points, some more victories," he stated.

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Basically, we are going to talk a little about what the week was like, to draw a line under these three games. Clearly, we started the week with a victory against Guaraní and ended today with a defeat; in a week that was very short, and we got three points out of nine. Of course, we would have liked to get some more points, some more victories.

Discussing the tactical approach to the match, López conceded that their initial plan did not yield the desired results. "Clearly, what we tried, what we planned, didn't work out," he said, particularly noting difficulties in the first half. He also touched upon player rotation and fitness, explaining that some changes were made to field a fresher team after the preseason.

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And from the game, actually, I won't comment much, simply that yes, we planned it, we did try to stand up to a rival who was going to come at us, and well, it was clearly reflected, especially in the first half, that what we tried, what we planned didn't work out.

However, López identified a specific moment as the turning point, attributing the loss to a critical error. "For me, it has nothing to do with anything else, because the balance tips in a situation of our own error," he explained, referencing a loose ball that led to Cerro Porteño's goal.

Despite the setback, López conveyed a message of resilience to his players. He emphasized the long nature of the championship and urged the team to rest, clear their minds, and prepare for the upcoming training sessions, expressing confidence in their ability to rebound in the Clausura 2026 tournament.

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And that's why I talk about drawing a line under what the week was, which started on Sunday and ended today, but with spirits very high, calm in the knowledge that we are at the beginning of a championship that we knew would be very difficult, but it is also very long, so in that sense, I ended up telling the players to take advantage of it, to rest, to free themselves from what the week was, and surely on Tuesday we will start training for a long week.