Independiente edges Lanús 2-1 at La Fortaleza with Carlos Matheu at the helm

A battered squad, a locker room in transition and an opponent arriving as the reigning Copa Sudamericana champion. Despite all that working against it, Independiente shook off the pressure and picked up another win at La Fortaleza. The team came out on top 2-1 against Lanús in matchday five of the Torneo Clausura, in a match defined by the interim spell of Carlos Matheu, the man who steadied the ship between the departure of Gustavo Quinteros and the arrival of Jadson Viera. Matheu, who normally runs the club's reserve squad day to day, had to step in and take charge of the first team at a far from easy moment. After the final whistle, he spoke to ESPN Equipo F with the satisfaction of someone who knows he pulled off something difficult.

I obviously found a group that was hurting after the coach's exit, but eager to fight, and they showed that today: desire, bravery and the courage to get through a very tough match against the reigning Sudamericana champion.Carlos Matheu

The interim coach went further, pointing out that the result carries extra merit given how little time he had to work with the squad. "Given everything the group had been going through, and with so little time with the guys, they showed heart and proved they're a great group that needs to keep turning into a team to improve the way it plays. They'll get there with time," he explained, adding that they tried to hold on to a footballing identity despite the circumstances, looking to build play from the back and combine, something he singled out as a positive regardless of the result.

Handing the reins to Viera

With Jadson Viera already confirmed as the new coach, Matheu said the two have already been in touch. On Monday night, ahead of the match, they had a brief chat lasting just a couple of minutes, in which the Uruguayan asked about the likely lineup. Matheu himself put himself at the disposal of the incoming coaching staff: "I'm at his disposal, because I want things to go well for the club, for it to compete at an international level, to win championships, for Independiente to be where it deserves to be, and he's the head coach," he said. Asked about Lautaro Millán's substitution in the second half, he clarified it wasn't due to any physical issue. "Nothing happened to him. I felt we had lost the midfield and that Mateo (Pérez Curci) and Lauti were maybe getting a bit tired, and we needed more fresh legs with Maxi Gutiérrez and Tata Martínez," he explained. Another highlight of the afternoon was Juan Arrayago's debut as a starter at center back. Matheu, who has coached him in the reserves for several months, praised his progress, describing him as a left footed center back who is disciplined in marking and capable of building play from the back, and noted that the team gave him a comfortable setting to perform in a debut at this level. The interim coach also took the chance to highlight the work being done with the youth divisions, which currently lead the Reserve Annual Table, stressing that the goal is for those young players to feel like they truly belong to the club before making the jump to the first team.