After the defeat in this Saturday's match (13) against Sport, for the Brasileirão, Flamengo coach, Zé ​​Ricardo, commented on the performance of Mais Querido. According to the coach, the opponent deserved the victory and this game will be taken as a "negative reference".

See the main excerpts from the press conference:

Sport's undisputed victory
I agree with them (the players), Sport's victory was undeniable. Except for the first 15 or 10 minutes, we couldn't be conscious of the game. We disconnected the teams, giving Sport too much space, especially in the first half. When you play poorly, you have to recognize it and see where we need to improve. The creative sector was our weak point; we couldn't organize plays, retain the ball, or get closer to the first attacking sector. The ball out was also affected because the team moved little. This match has to be taken as a negative benchmark. We played a performance below our expectations.

Sport's defenders were marking Guerrero well, and I believe it was a physical game (the play in which the striker wasn't fouled and the Peruvian received a yellow card, resulting in his suspension for the next game), a fight for space, and the referee ruled it wasn't a foul. But even if it wasn't called, we have to be restrained and avoid this type of card. This was just a minor detail in a game in which we performed significantly below expectations.

We realized we weren't having the afternoon we expected technically, making a lot of mistakes and giving Sport too many opportunities. We tried to make some changes to get back on track, but the players we brought in didn't perform so well. This loss was deserved.

We won't go on a witch hunt. He's truly an athlete we count on a lot. I don't think he's played at his level, but he maintains a very high level of performance. We have complete confidence in him, so much so that he's our captain. 

I think when we create opportunities, we can regret them. Today, we created very little and made things easier for Sport, who spread their lines wide, compacted well at the back, and then relied on the speed of their players. We almost conceded the second goal. I don't think it's a psychological issue; we really have to work on that. We need to create space and occupy it rationally to create opportunities. It wasn't possible. It's a shame to interrupt such a good run of performances. So, we have to balance it out; not everything is bad when we lose and not so good when we win. We need to continue this pursuit of the top spots.