Flamengo returned to play in the Brazilian Championship on Wednesday night (18) and ended up being defeated by São Paulo 1-0 at Maracanã. After the final whistle, coach Maurício Barbieri spoke in a press conference at the stadium and commented on the home defeat.

“We had great control of the game. São Paulo came with their usual strategy, which is to wait for the counter-attack. However, even so, we managed to create good chances with Paquetá, Marlos, and Uribe. We had counter-attacks that we could have finished better in the second half, two clear chances after conceding the goal. We faced an experienced team that knows how to defend well. We tried to change the team's structure, to find other solutions for the second half, but we lacked better finishing,” Barbieri analyzed.

“(The defeat) doesn't shake us. We are dissatisfied with the result, as it wasn't what we wanted. Considering our dominance and the way we played, we had a relatively good match. We fought hard, we sought the goal in many different ways. We need to adjust what we did wrong. We remain in the lead of the championship, so we must continue with the same dedication, commitment and fight. The players praised the support of the fans in the locker room conversation, who supported and applauded even in defeat. We will continue working hard to always repay them,” the coach concluded.

“There were more counter-attacks in the first half than in the second. We suffered more from our offensive corner kicks, and we talked at halftime to fix that. In the goal-scoring play, Renê tried a long ball, but it ended up being short. Everton managed to anticipate him. We always try to react quickly, and I believe we managed to do that, especially at the end of the game. Facing more defensive teams isn't a new situation, so we're looking for alternatives to overcome it. We tried many of them in today's game, but we couldn't score,” he concluded.

Flamengo's next challenge will be on Saturday (21), at 19 pm, against Botafogo at Maracanã. Tickets are on sale on the website. http://flamengo.com.br/ingressos