Alan Shearer believes Gabriel Magalhaes looked 'shaky' and 'slow' in Brazil's World Cup opener which ended in a 1-1 draw with Morocco. The Arsenal centre-back, who is appearing at a World Cup for the first time in his career, was caught out of position for Morocco's opening goal as a brilliant pass from Brahim Diaz put Ismael Saibari through and he clipped the ball over Alisson.
Brazil equalised before half time through an excellent finish from Vinicius Jr, but Carlo Ancelotti's side struggled to pose problems for Morocco.
Shearer's Criticism
'He's looked shaky, Gabriel, today,' Shearer said during the BBC's coverage of the game. 'On two or three occasions the ball has gone out and I thought he could've attacked it and he didn't. He's been slow. Certainly with the goal in the first half, the gap between him and Marquinhos was huge.'
Ancelotti's Reaction
Speaking after Brazil's draw, Ancelotti conceded that opening game nerves had got the better of his players. 'I think we didn't start the game well, the team was a bit worried, we lost a lot of balls, a lot of duels,' Ancelotti said. 'The first half wasn't good. It improved in the second half, it's a difficult game because Morocco is a good team. A little anxiety, I think so. In the first stage, they [Morocco] would escape the pressure and make dangerous transitions. We could have had more control.'
Lucas Leiva's Analysis
Meanwhile, former Liverpool and Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva believes Ancelotti's side lacked balance in the middle of the pitch. 'One point is better than nothing but I think Ancelotti will have a lot of work to do for the next game against Haiti,' Lucas told CBS Sports. 'It should be an easier game for Brazil but I was a little bit worried, especially the first half, with what we saw in the game. Before the game we spoke about balance, Brazil never looked in control in the middle, Casemiro struggled a little bit and that's why he got taken out at half time. Offensively, Brazil never looked dangerous, they didn't create as much as we could've imagined. We were talking about the position of Raphinha, Brazil never had a right winger, which made it difficult. Second half was a little bit better, Danilo coming on at right-back gave them more stability at the back. But overall it wasn't a good performance, the balance of the team wasn't right, the middle never got control of the game and we know how important the midfield is for the team.'
Brazil play Haiti in their next World Cup match on June 20.
