Coach Cuca said that Santos had difficulties preparing for this Saturday’s (11) match against Atlético-MG.
In a press conference after the 1-0 win at Vila Belmiro, he said the squad was affected by a delay to their flight back to Brazil this week.
On Wednesday (8), Peixe played in Ecuador in the opening round of the Copa Sudamericana group stage.
"There is sacrifice, there is wear and tear. The players today, after this trip… because our flight was also delayed. we were also worn out. but if we don’t play today, there’s no way to play on Tuesday, so we played. but the players need to rest," Cuca said.
The coach’s statement refers to the postponement of the Flamengo vs. Fluminense derby to this Sunday (12).
The match at the Maracanã was scheduled for Saturday, but the date was changed after a request from Flamengo, which also had a delay to its flight back to Brazil this week.
The team played in Cusco, Peru, in its Copa Libertadores opener.
The decision to postpone Fla-Flu sparked negative reactions among Fluminense fans and even from other clubs, with Palmeiras releasing an official statement criticizing the measure.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
