Parked at 71 points, the Flamenguistas continue in the lead, but now two points behind vice-leader Palmeiras, with 69
Flamengo was defeated 2-1 by Fluminense, in a classic played this Wednesday, in the 34th round of the Brasileirão, and lost the opportunity to distance itself from Palmeiras, who drew goalless with Vitória. Inoperative for most of the time at Maracanã, the red and black team only found the net with a penalty kick, at the end of the second stage, when the tricolores were winning 2-0, with goals from Lucho Acosta and Serna.
Parked at 71 points, the Flamengo fans remain in the lead, but now two points behind second-place Palmeiras, with 69. Fluminense, in turn, enters the G-6, in sixth place, with 54 points, but the position can still be recovered by Bahia, who faces Fortaleza, at 6 pm this Thursday, at Casa de Apostas Arena Fonte Nova.
Flamengo signaled that it intended to dictate the pace of the match and pushed Fluminense back in the first minutes of the game. However, he found a solid defensive posture from his rivals and repeated the story of many other games this season: ball at the foot and little repertoire to transform possession into dominance, in fact.
There was more intelligence and objectivity from the tricolor side, who even took advantage of the red-black rival’s mistakes to build a 2-0 lead in the first half. With a lot of willingness to put pressure on the Flamengo team, Fluminense had its main offensive weapon in Lucho Acosta.
A great goal from the Argentine, with a placed shot that covered Rossi, took the score off the scoreboard. Later, a ball poorly saved by young João Victor, 18 years old, for the Flamenguista goalkeeper to dominate in a clumsy way, led to the second tricolor goal, scored by Serna.
Filipe Luís tried to correct Flamengo’s mistakes with substitutions after half-time. He removed the boy João Victor, in order to preserve him, to replace the experienced Danilo. Furthermore, Juninho replaced Luiz Araújo.
Fluminense, in turn, understood that it was better to close themselves off completely and allowed Flamengo a greater presence in the attack. The Flamengo fans’ lack of forcefulness made the mission of the defenders of the Laranjeiras team a little easier, as they suffered few scares and only attacked in the safety of counterattacks.
When the red and black team managed to be more effective, closer to the end of the match, they blocked shots such as a great save by Fábio after a header by Juninho. Following the play, however, Renê put his hand on the ball after Saúl shot the rebound, and the referee awarded a penalty. Jorginho converted, but the reaction stopped there.
*Estadão Content
