After a seven-game winless streak, Flamengo found its way back to victory last Saturday, defeating Atlético-PR 1-0 at the Maracanã. Now, against Santos at Vila Belmiro, the red-and-black team makes its debut in the second half of the Brazilian Championship with the goal of returning to the top of the table. Coach Caio Júnior believes the difficulties in the second half will increase and states that head-to-head matches will decide the championship's top spots.

"The second round is more difficult. We have a tough streak of upcoming games, and we have to prepare. Depending on the upcoming results, we'll know whether or not we'll be fighting for the national title. I believe the head-to-head matches will determine the top finishers. The secret to the championship is to approach every game like a final."

After the collective training session this afternoon in Gávea, the red-and-black manager stated that his biggest challenge is finding a playmaker for the red-and-black midfield. Caio Júnior tested Toró in the training session, but the player struggled a bit.

"The team that trained today could be the same. I noticed Toró was having difficulty setting up plays. I talked to him to try to adjust, since he's played mostly as a defensive man these past two years. I'm going to test Léo Moura to make an assessment. Our team needs to get into the opponent's box more, and we need to solve this problem."

Caio Júnior showed confidence in the debut of left-back Eltinho.

"Eltinho was my player and has my confidence. He may be lacking match fitness, but he trained for 50 minutes today and did well. Making his debut for Flamengo isn't easy, especially replacing Juan. With time, he has everything he needs to do very well here."