Colombia must give Suarez more support, says head coach Lorenzo

Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo believes his side "should have supported Luis Suarez a bit more" in their defeat to Paraguay on Friday.

Paraguay won 1-0 at Sports Illustrated Stadium thanks to Hugo Benitez's winner in the 56th minute.

Although Colombia recorded almost three times as many shots as Paraguay (14 to five), the latter accumulated more expected goals (0.95 to 0.89) and hit the target just as often (two).

Colombia struggled to get Suarez into the game; the striker was responsible for just one of their 14 shots and recorded the fewest touches of any starting player in the team (14).

Suarez had scored in each of his previous seven games for club and country, netting eight times in that run, and Lorenzo acknowledged Colombia must create more chances for their talisman.

"I think we should have supported Luis Suarez a bit more," said Lorenzo.

"We needed more width from the full-backs. And when we did get forward, perhaps we didn't deliver enough crosses, and we faced an opponent that defends very well deep in their own half.

"The problem is that we struggled to get our build-up play right, we let ourselves get pressed, we made a lot of mistakes in that area, and we played against a team that had just come from a very well-prepared World Cup, which made things difficult for us.

"There were times when we made very simple, very childish mistakes, I'd say, in the final play; either we didn't cross the ball, or we went back and lost possession. 

"We're still building, and we'll draw conclusions as time goes on. I think there are some positive things to highlight, even though I acknowledge the team didn't play well."

Colombia face Peru in the final game of the international break on October 6.