After the 1-1 draw against Atlético-PR at Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba (PR), on Sunday afternoon (28), coach Zé Ricardo gave a press conference. In addition to analyzing the match, the coach praised Flamengo's performance, as well as projecting the week of training until next week's derby.

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"The start of the game wasn't so pleasant for us. We couldn't maintain our high defensive line as we would have liked, and Atlético ended up having more possession and creating more danger in front of goal. From the 20th minute onwards, we managed to balance things out, and we also played a better second half, so the result ended up being fair," said the coach.

We certainly value this aspect a lot. We've come from a run of five matches with travel in practically all of them. Atlético had the opportunity to work throughout the week, perhaps that's why they were able to impose such a strong rhythm in the first half. Some players couldn't play today, but that's part of a long championship and season like ours. Those who came in did the job, and that strengthens our group.

Both draws were against teams that I consider favorites for the top of the table. As expected, we're trying to keep in mind that for every six points we should get at least four. Now we need to work hard this week to win against Botafogo.

We'll see about that during the week. Both are working with the ball, and Diego is already at a more advanced stage. The medical department will still make that assessment. We're trying to schedule a practice match to get both players back into rhythm and see their condition. Flamengo has a balanced and consistent squad; I believe we'll be able to put on a strong performance even without them.

It's a tough game, both teams know each other quite well. It should be a match decided by small details.

From the moment he joins our squad and starts training daily, we'll give him the opportunity to adapt to his teammates. He needs a lot of patience, as we try not to put pressure on him, because that wouldn't be fair. By gaining confidence and developing chemistry with his teammates, he can certainly compete for a starting position.

It's very important to have all the players available. Today the players left the field very exhausted, but that's how it should be; it's a sign of fighting spirit and dedication. We know that playing at Arena da Baixada is very difficult. Flamengo played on equal terms with Atlético, but ended up conceding a goal due to a small lapse in concentration. Big games are decided by details; we could have won and taken the three points. The result was fair.

We've improved our build-up play, something we've been working on a lot with them to give our forwards better conditions. We've managed to get the ball into the opponent's attacking half, which is our greatest strength. With this series of matches, we haven't been able to maintain our full intensity at times, but we'll use this week to train and rest, returning to our best level on Sunday.

Guerrero played well and assumed the leading role we asked of him during Diego's absence, even being decisive in some matches. He fulfilled his role as a reference point. He worked hard for the team today and even had a great opportunity at the end of the match.