Jon Obi Mikel has long been a critic of Nicolas Jackson, and so the moment we saw the striker get a foolish red card against Flamengo we were already wondering what the former Chelsea midfielder would make of it all in his role as a pundit on DAZN.
Mikel lays into “stupid” Jackson after red
He didn’t hold back:
“Unbelievable. Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake. I don’t know what was going through his head.
Your team needs you and he does that. He did the same at Newcastle… you can’t keep making these mistakes.”
He also noted how much better the Brazilian team had been than his former club:
“Flamengo from the start of the game they were the much better side. They controlled the game, played well, with tempo, they were aggressive. They were first to every ball and outplayed Chelsea from the very start.”
His coach defended him in the end – having said post game that it was a red, he changed his answer in the press conference to say that he was “not 100% sure it was a red card, compared to the Newcastle one.”
Flamengo coach happy to praise Jackson as “one of the best strikers”
One person was happy to praise Jackson however – Flamengo manager Filipe Luis. After coaching his team to a really good win, he was ready to back Jackson to overcome his struggles and get back on track to being one of the world’s best forwards:
“Jackson is so good and he is young and he has the quality the club needs. He will surpass this little mistake,” the Flamengo boss said.
“I think the red was clear, but it is just a small detail. He can be one of the best strikers in the world.”
Maresca should not be managing this team . He got loads of CMs and still he played James in midfield . What on earth this manager thinking . Felipe Luis read the game properly and adjusted well on the second half and this maresca one dimension tactics . No wonder player’ s calling his tactics boring . They billionaires hiring a amateur manager to manage the team and spend billions but looks the team playing they’re not elites they played like in the lower division . They should hire a elite manager to manage this talented team to showcase their skills . The owners have billions but can’t hire a elite manager . Felipe Luis shows how to manage organise the team and win the game . Maresca is not good to manage a big club . Waste of money to allow this manager to manage this team . I rather have Felipe Luis than maresca . This club is a laughing stuff for the rest of the football season, season by season . You hire the wrong manager . Why on earth he doesn’t play Santos at least in midfield than James . Switch James on the RB were he shine .