Flamengo has a magical night at Maracanã, imposes itself and massacres Palmeiras, while Bragantino is defeated by São Paulo at Vila Belmiro and loses the chance to stay in the lead.
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Index
Flamengo 3×0 Palmeiras
With a resounding victory over Palmeiras, Flamengo delivered a spectacular team performance, and as a result, individual talents shone. This way, they “repositioned” themselves in the race for the Brazilian League title and are now only 3 points behind Botafogo and Palmeiras, the leader and vice-leader.
The game started off fiercely contested, with opportunities for both sides. Flamengo startled first, as Arrascaeta crossed the ball at the 7th minute, and Pedro headed it for Weverton’s save. On the rebound, Cebolinha unleashed a powerful shot, but the goalkeeper once again made the save.
Palmeiras responded with two chances from Breno Lopes. At the 13th minute, Endrick dribbled past two defenders, reached the byline, and crossed to Breno Lopes, who, in the small box, was hindered by Matheuzinho and couldn’t finish.
At the 14th minute, Raphael Veiga received the ball on the left wing and passed it back to Breno Lopes. The striker faced several defenders and Rossi made a save that was a bit “nervy,” resulting in a corner.
Rubro-Negro opened the scoring at the 17th minute. Pulgar carried the ball through the middle and delivered a masterful pass to Pedro, who calmly slotted it past Weverton to ignite the Flamengo fans.
Photo: Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF
After the goal, Flamengo started to dominate the game, creating numerous opportunities and facing little defensive pressure.
At the 20th minute, Everton Cebolinha dribbled past Gustavo Gómez and Zé Rafael and took a well-placed shot from outside the box. Weverton made a good save and reached for the top corner.
Rubro-Negro extended their lead at the 28th minute. Rossi sent Cebolinha down the middle, who pulled it back and crossed between defenders to Arrascaeta, who found himself unmarked to head the ball into the back of the net.
At the 30th minute, Pedro passed to Luiz Araújo in a deep position. The forward entered the box but, while attempting to shoot, sent it high.
For the second half, Abel Ferreira abandoned the three-center-back formation, substituting Luan and Richard Ríos with Luís Guilherme and Fabinho in an attempt to stage a comeback. However, his plans were dashed at the 2nd minute as Gustavo Gómez received a straight red card for a challenge on Arrascaeta. The defender misjudged the ball’s bounce, and the Uruguayan would have had an open field without any markers to advance.
With one player down, Palmeiras became vulnerable and conceded the third goal at the 18th minute, courtesy of a beautiful team play by Flamengo. Matheuzinho passed to Arrascaeta, who evaded Murilo’s marking and found Cebolinha, who returned the ball to the Uruguayan maestro, and he threaded a pass to Ayrton Lucas. The full-back crossed to the far post, Gerson deflected it into the middle, and the sharpshooter Pedro anticipated to score his second goal of the match.
Photo: Gilvan de Souza/CRF
With a 3-0 lead, Flamengo simply managed the result without taking any risks. At the end of the match, the Flamengo fans chanted “olé” and “one more,” celebrating their team’s return to the title race in the Brazilian League.
São Paulo 1×0 Bragantino
Playing at Vila Belmiro due to events at Morumbi, Bragantino had a below-par performance and was defeated by São Paulo, missing the opportunity to take the lead.
Right from the first minute, Henry Mosquera made a brilliant individual play, and the ball fell to Helinho one-on-one with Rafael, who made a good save. The linesman signaled offside against Helinho, but his position was legal.
At the 8th minute, Juan was launched, won the duel with Léo Ortiz, and passed to Luciano inside the box, who struck it low, and Cleiton caught the ball.
At the 12th minute, Juan found Luciano, this time at the edge of the box. The number 10 took a shot, the ball deflected off the defense, and Cleiton, who was moving to the right, made the save.
At the 38th minute, Wellington Rato received the ball on the right, cut inside, and took a left-footed shot, but it went wide, lacking power.
At the 43rd minute, a remarkable sequence of events occurred. Wellington Rato lifted a free-kick into the box, Arboleda deflected it towards the goal, and Juninho Capixaba hesitated when clearing it in the small area. The full-back considered passing to Cleiton but missed his attempt to clear, allowing Michel Araujo to score. In the struggle with the goalkeeper, the ball went out for a corner.
After an unrecognizable Bragantino in the first half, Pedro Caixinha pushed the team forward and made substitutions, bringing on Thiago Borbas and Vitinho for Mosquera and Matheus Fernandes.
In the first minute of the second half, Borbas set up Aderlan at the edge of the area, but the right-back missed the target. At the 4th minute, Helinho received the ball on the right, cut inside, and took a shot that Rafael comfortably saved.
At the 10th minute, Helinho invaded the box, went to the byline, and crossed. The defense cleared it, and Sasha, at the penalty spot, attempted a volley, but it was blocked by the defenders.
At the 42nd minute, Caio Paulista went to the byline and went past Talisson, who attempted a tackle but ended up colliding with the São Paulo full-back. The referee did not immediately award the penalty but, after a VAR review, pointed to the spot three minutes later. Erison took the penalty with power down the middle, securing the victory for Tricolor.
Photo: Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images
With this win, São Paulo reached 45 points and virtually ensured they wouldn’t be in the relegation zone, while Bragantino missed a significant opportunity to challenge for the top of the table but remained in contention.
