Lucas Reveals It Was Hard To Play After Chapecoense Tragedy
Lucas conceded his mind was elsewhere as Liverpool faced Leeds in the EFL Cup, with his homeland in mourning over the Chapecoense disaster.
Brazil and Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva continued the tributes to the Chapecoense players who lost their lives in Monday's air disaster.
In total, 71 people were killed when a chartered plane carrying players and staff from the Brazilian football team for their Copa Sudamericana final first-leg match against Atletico Nacional crashed en route to Medellin, Colombia.
Lucas captained Liverpool to a 2-0 EFL Cup quarter-final win over Leeds United at Anfield on Tuesday and conceded it was hard for him to focus on the task at hand.
Que Deus abençoe todas essas pessoas que estavam neste terrível acidente. #chapecoense . God bless all these people that were in this terrible accident . #planecrash 🙌🏻🙏🏻 A photo posted by Lucas Leiva (@leivalucas) on Nov 29, 2016 at 12:16am PST
"It was a terrible accident. I have a few people that I played with [on the flight], some young players," Lucas told Sky Sports, having led his team in a minute's silence before the match.
"It was very hard for me to play tonight because I know a lot of people there.
"We just hope that the families have the support that they need and the victims rest in peace."