Arturo Vidal slams Huachipato's defense after Colo Colo draw: "This isn't normal, it's a pickup game"

Eight players crammed inside the box, almost glued to the goal line. That was the image that stuck with Arturo Vidal after the scoreless draw between Colo Colo and Huachipato at Ester Roa Rebolledo stadium, and he didn't hold back about it.

The Colo Colo captain used his YouTube channel to break down the match, and he didn't mince words when discussing the game plan set up by Huachipato's coach, Jaime Garcia. For Vidal, what Huachipato did that day had nothing to do with normal soccer.

This isn't normal. Count all the players inside the box. Six, there were eight. This isn't normal, it's a pickup game.Arturo Vidal

The "King" went further and also zeroed in on the state of the field, which he said ended up being an extra ally for the home side. Colo Colo created chances throughout the match, but kept running into a low block that left no space.

The field helped them. Colo Colo always kept its shape and these guys were all sitting back. I don't understand how we drew this game.Arturo Vidal

On the pitch conditions specifically, the midfielder explained that the state of the turf directly shaped how the team could play. Threading a pass on a well kept field is nothing like doing it on one where the ball bounces unevenly.

"On this field we were worried about the ball just arriving cleanly enough to make a pass. On good fields we know who we're going to give it to before it even gets there," Vidal said, adding that this forced Colo Colo to look for other ways in: "Here we had to wait for the ball to settle before playing the pass. That's why the plays took a bit longer to develop. But we still always tried to push the tempo. We tried to play a lot through the outside, because through the middle wasn't very good."

The play that bothered him the most

Before wrapping up his analysis, the midfielder went back to one specific moment that pretty much sums up the core of his complaint: a sequence where practically the entire Huachipato team ended up standing on its own goal line, as if it were a corner kick, even though it wasn't.

"This guy was just missing a glove, standing right on the goal line, and it wasn't even a corner. It was just a play that happened. There were eight players inside the box on a regular play. That's not something you work on in training, that's just chaos, just making sure they don't concede no matter what. It's like when they park the bus there," Vidal said in closing.

The draw leaves Colo Colo with the feeling that points slipped away despite dominating possession, while for Huachipato the result confirms that with defensive discipline and patience, you can still come away with something positive even against a rival that shows up looking to do more with the ball.