Flamengo won its fifth Brazilian Cup this Sunday (10), at Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte, by defeating Atlético-MG 1-0, with a goal from Ecuadorian Gonzalo Plata and a great performance from Bruno Henrique in the second half . The match was also marked by confusion in the stands, with Atlético-MG fans throwing a series of objects onto the field.
In the first game, last Sunday (3) at Maracanã, the red and black team had already won 3-1. The title marks Filipe Luís’ first triumph as coach, just over a month after taking command of the team of Ninho do Urubu, after Tite’s resignation at the end of September.
Motivated by the elimination to Peñarol in the Libertadores and by the until then oscillating performance in the Brasileirão, the change in technical command quickly injected enthusiasm into the fans and players.
At Arena MRV, Flamengo bet on long throws and quick recompositions. He had a good chance after just two minutes, with Gerson, who stopped with goalkeeper Éverson. Rossi also appeared when he saved strong shots from outside the box from Hulk.
The first half still had at least two more good opportunities, one for each side: Wesley made a good move on the right and Arrascaeta headed over the goal, and Paulinho almost took advantage of Flamengo’s mistake.
Even more pressured by the need to score, Gabriel Milito returned for the second half with two substitutions: he replaced Lyanco with Saravia —a defender for a full-back— and removed midfielder Otávio for center forward Alan Kardec.
Filipe Luís replaced Gabigol with Bruno Henrique and, at the beginning of the second stage, removed Arrascaeta and placed Fabrício Bruno as third defender. It was Éverson who saved Galo from getting even more complicated with two shots from Bruno Henrique and Michael.
Milito tried to fix the team by exchanging Zaracho for Bernard, Scarpa for Alisson and Guilherme Arana for Rubens. The black and white team almost opened the score with a ball hit inside Flamengo’s area, who mounted a counterattack in the next play and ended the game in the 37th minute with a goal from Gonzalo Plata.
The match was stopped for around five minutes after a bomb was thrown towards the Rio club’s players during the celebration. Athletic fans also threw glasses and other objects onto the field.
When the match resumed, Wesley still had a chance to increase the score, but Éverson made another great save, keeping the score at 1-0, which confirmed the title for the red and black team.
It is the second time in three years that Flamengo has lifted the competition trophy. Last year, they finished runner-up after losing to São Paulo 2-1 on aggregate. In 2022, they beat Corinthians.
For the title, he will receive R$71.5 million from the CBF. Having reached the decision by eliminating Amazonas, Palmeiras, Bahia and Corinthians, another R$19.6 million had already been guaranteed.
In addition to the same R$19.6 million, Atlético will earn another R$31.5 million for runners-up. In the frustrated campaign for the third Brazilian Cup title — they lifted the cup in 2014 and 2021 —, they left Sport, CRB, São Paulo and Vasco along the way.
Now, the Libertadores final is ahead, which will be played against Botafogo on the 30th.
