Dorival pleased with Flamengo improvement

Flamengo have not had the best of league seasons so far but, with a 2-0 away win at Figueirense on Thursday night, manager Dorival Jr believes he is seeing improvement.

Flamengo opted for a new 4-3-3 system in Florianópolis, bringing in the sprightly Negueba and creative Thomás in support of Vagner Love in attack. The move reaped rewards for the Rubro-Negro with the centre-forward bagging two goals for his side.

The game also saw an improved performance from Flamengo's midfield, with the hard-working trio of Luiz Antônio, Renato Abreu and Victor Caceres, later Muralha, looking much better than in recent games, giving solidity to what is a weak back-line.

"It's important that the team are facing up to what must be done," Dorival told Lancenet!. "It's possible to see an improvement over the last few games. The team were more combative, exchanged passes and retained possession."

Asked whether the win marked the end of Flamengo's bad run of form, he added: "I ask the fans for patience. The team will fluctuate a lot."