After the change from Luis Zubeldía to Marcão at the helm of Fluminense, the team's performance improved significantly, and several players evolved individually. One of the main examples of this change is striker Hulk, who has returned to top-level football under the new manager.
The numbers clearly show this improvement. With Marcão, Hulk scored three goals in four games, while with Zubeldía he had converted only one goal in seven matches. This individual evolution has been fundamental for the team's recovery in the Brazilian Championship.
In the 3-3 draw with Athletico-PR on Sunday, the striker achieved another feat: he scored his first free-kick goal for Fluminense. Of the four times he has found the net for the tricolor so far, two came from set-piece situations — the free-kick against the Huracán and a penalty against Grêmio.
In the last game, Hulk also took a perfect free-kick that resulted in Ignácio's goal, which turned the score to 3-2, although the team conceded the equalizer in stoppage time. Marcão commented that Hulk is "too big" and was in an adaptation period, but has been responding well in training, evolving, participating more, and getting to know the group better.
