Peñarol falls to Nacional on a corner-kick goal, and Aguirre admits he found no way to turn it around

One corner. That was all it took for Nacional to win the derby and leave Peñarol with the feeling of having worked a full match for nothing. Peñarol fell 0-1 to Nacional this Sunday at Estadio Campeón del Siglo, in the fourth round of the Uruguayan Torneo Clausura, and Diego Aguirre offered no excuses when it came time to explain what happened.

The Peñarol coach was direct in his postgame press conference: the loss "hurts a lot," and the team couldn't find a way to break down a Nacional side that, as Aguirre himself acknowledged, didn't generate much with the ball either.

It's soccer, and from the moment you play a match it's generally very even, these things can happen. We had the misfortune of conceding, and we didn't find the paths to turn it around. We knew it was going to be tough, and after that we ran out of space to create chances, aside from a few isolated moments we had, and we ended up losing a match that really hurts.Diego Aguirre

Set pieces, once again

This isn't the first time this season Peñarol has conceded on a dead-ball play, and Aguirre was asked directly about that recurring issue. Far from dramatizing it, the coach framed it within the logic of the game: you work on it, but you can't always prevent it.

"It's part of the game," he responded when asked about that defensive weakness. The coach explained that the goal came at a moment when the match was under control, and that specific situation dismantled the plan they'd prepared for the derby.

Even though we talk about it and work on it, you can't control these situations because they happen. In general, there's always some dangerous moment or set-piece goals in every match, it's part of the game. We conceded that corner in a match that was calm, under control, and it knocked us off the idea or the game plan we had. We got a little nervous and couldn't find the way to equalize.Diego Aguirre

On the team's attitude, Aguirre defended his players despite the unfavorable result. He said they gave everything and fought hard, though he admitted that isn't enough when the scoreboard ends up being what counts. He also praised the fans' support in the stands at Campeón del Siglo, which made the feeling of not being able to turn the result around even heavier.

With the Clausura just getting underway, the message inside the squad was to bounce back quickly. Aguirre insisted that the goal remains fighting for the Uruguayan Championship and that there's no room to dwell on a defeat, however painful it was. The idea, he said, is to show unity heading into the next match and not let this result weigh on what's ahead.