🧔 Eduardo Domínguez tackles possible fatigue at Galo, void without Hulk

🧔 Eduardo Domínguez tackles possible fatigue at Galo, void without Hulk

After the departure of idol Hulk, who was unveiled by Fluminense this Monday (11), Atlético needs to move on.

And coach Eduardo Domínguez has a first decision to make: who will be the new free-kick taker?

Appearing calm, "Barba" used the 1-1 draw against Botafogo to explain that Galo will naturally find the "owner" of that role.

"Whenever a major reference leaves, it creates a void. And that feeling of emptiness is normal. But Maycon took a penalty with great class in the derby. We scored from set pieces in the previous match. Vitor Hugo came in alone at the far post and missed the header. He went down when he went down with the ball and I couldn't take it well. Cassierra missed at the near post, before Vitor. In other words, this is the situation we have. Yes, I understand the feeling, but we solve it as a team."

Besides that issue, Eduardo Domínguez addressed the team's "fatigue," considering that in the last 10 matches there have been only three wins, two draws, and five defeats.

"I believe that everything is interconnected. It's not just the defensive side, nor just the attacking side, it's everything. It's not just the physical side, nor just the mental side, it's all of it. If one player is tired, that spreads to everyone in the day-to-day. One is tired and, when he did that, he passed the ball to another player and the game went on. I can't say it's just one part, because everything is interconnected. What we have to improve is everything. And it's a little bit of each thing. Because, at the end of the day, it's a little bit of each thing. We know what we need to improve and how we need to improve it."

Atlético returns to the field next Wednesday (13), when it visits Ceará at Arena Castelão for the second leg of the fifth round of the 2026 Copa do Brasil (first leg 2-1 to Galo).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.