At the Maracanã, Flamengo beat Fluminense 2-1 this Sunday (12) in the 11th round of the Brasileirão.
Used to being a thorn in their rival’s side, Tricolor das Laranjeiras was dominated by Rubro-Negro for much of the match.
Flamengo’s strategy of pressing the opposition’s build-up paid off.
That was, in fact, how the team’s first goal came about.
Veteran goalkeeper Fábio tried to play out from the back by finding Samuel Xavier, but the Fluminense full-back was dispossessed by Evertton Araújo.
Pedro noticed that Fábio was still off his line and went for the shot, even from 42 meters out.
Fábio made amends shortly afterward with a great save on Plata’s shot, which took a deflection off Freytes.
With little attacking threat, especially after losing Lucho Acosta early in the derby to a knee sprain caused by a ball to the face, Fluminense barely troubled goalkeeper Rossi.
After the break, Pedro once again proved the former-player rule, chesting in a cross from the left.
With his two goals in the derby, Pedro pulled further clear as Flamengo’s top scorer of the century, with 163 goals — Gabriel Barbosa has 161.
Pedro, in fact, could have had a hat-trick, but ended up hitting Fábio’s post.
Trailing on the scoreboard, Fluminense pushed forward and started to test Rossi.
Even without much organization or creativity in attack, Fluminense’s goal came after a scramble in the box, which ended with Alex Sandro providing an “assist” for Savarino, who slid in almost underneath the crossbar.
Despite the late pressure, Fluminense could not find an equalizer in the derby.
🚦 Standings
With the result, Flamengo moved up to 20 points and climbed to second place in the Brasileirão.
Fluminense, meanwhile, remained on 20 points but dropped to fourth place on goal difference (+8 for Fla vs. +6 for São Paulo vs. +5).
Tricolor das Laranjeiras return to action on Wednesday (15), when they host Independiente Rivadavia at the Maracanã in the second round of the Libertadores.
The following day, also at the Maracanã, Rubro-Negro face Independiente Medellín.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
