Gabriel Magalhaes featured for Brazil as they faced Colombia last night in a disappointing 2-1 defeat, after the game opinions are divided.
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes was in action for his country last night as they took on Colombia in World Cup qualifying. The 25-year-old played 82 minutes in the 2-1 defeat and has been slammed by Brazil fans for his display.
Gabriel wasn’t at his optimal level and by no means was at his best, but that doesn’t mean he was bad enough to warrant the abuse some Brazilian fans have aimed at him.
While looking at his stats on SofaScore, he won four duels along with boasting a 93% pass completion percentage. This showcases that he wasn’t bad, and rather a few moments have led to the criticism, specifically in the second-half.
Following the game, Brazilian fans were divided in discussing his display on social media.
Brazil fans react to Gabriel’s performance
One fan on X, gave a brutal review of the Arsenal defender’s performance. Writing, “It’s genuinely scary just how bad Gabriel Magalhães has been for Brazil tonight.”
Another had a similar reaction in response to the performance of Gabriel in the early hours of Friday morning, saying: “One of the worst defenders to ever put on a Brazil jersey ever, Gabriel Magalhaes.”
Following this a third agreed, stating: “The fact that Gabriel Magalhaes starts for the brazilian NT tells you everything you need to know about the dip in quality within the Selecão.”
However, fans weren’t all in agreement, as some jumped to his defence in response to the criticisms from other fans. Gabriel is a recent introduction into the Brazil set-up and has been largely a positive inclusion thus far.
One fan in defence of Gabriel responded: “He wasn’t at fault for either goals and his passing has been brilliant”.
While another added that Gabriel was actually the best of Brazil’s poor defence: “Not sure what matches other Brazilians were watching. Gabriel Magalhães was far from being the main problem in the back four. Renan Lodi, Emerson & washed Marquinhos way were worse. Those 3 should be no where near the Seleção anymore.”
Undeserved critique for Gabriel
Mikel Arteta hailed Gabriel as outstanding just a few weeks ago, but now he is receiving very differing reviews. Gabriel’s situation of being at the centre of blame from Brazil fan does seem like he’s being scapegoated to a degree.
His brilliant form for Arsenal probably led Selecão fans to expect huge things from him which he didn’t live up to. The issue we think is more a Brazilian team issue than the personnel in defence, consistently cut open by Colombia, Brazil insisted on playing a very open style.
Gabriel will bounce back, and we hope he is given the chance to prove all these doubters wrong against Argentina next week. South America’s biggest game, with both sides coming in on a loss making the stakes even higher.
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