At the Maracanã, Flamengo defeated Vitória 2-1 this Wednesday (22) in the first leg of the fifth round of the 2026 Copa do Brasil.
The road toward a sixth tournament title began with a stunning goal from young defensive midfielder Evertton Araújo, who unleashed a rocket from outside the box before the 10-minute mark and lobbed the opposing goalkeeper.
But Leão da Barra responded 20 seconds later with a beauty of their own.
Erick got on the end of the rebound from a left-footed cross, hit it first time, and fired it into Rossi’s top corner.
Despite dominating possession, the Rio rubro-negro side only threatened again in stoppage time, when Cebolinha went through one-on-one, but Lucas Arcanjo made a spectacular save with his feet.
After the break, however, Flamengo turned control of the match into chances and a lead on the scoreboard.
The breathing room came from Pedro, with a header, finishing off Bruno Henrique’s cross.
Arrascaeta hit the crossbar and also wasted a chance from almost inside the six-yard box, firing over the goal.
Vitória did find Rossi’s net once more, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
🚦 Situation
With the win, Flamengo only need a draw in the second leg, on May 14 at Barradão, to advance to the round of 16.
Vitória, meanwhile, need to win by two goals to qualify. A one-goal win for the hosts would send the tie to penalties.
Leão da Barra return to action next Sunday (26), when they visit Athletico-PR at the Arena da Baixada in the Brasileirão.
As for the Rio rubro-negro side, they visit Atlético-MG at the Arena MRV on the same day, in the closing match of the 13th round.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
