Flamengo overcomes Bahia, wins again and eliminates crisis after Sampaoli’s departure

O Flamengo won again in the Brazilian Championship. In the first game without the coach Jorge Sampaolithe Rio team beat Bahia 1-0 at Maracanã, this Saturday, with a goal from the striker Pedrofrom a penalty.

The victory brings the team closer to a place in the next edition of the Copa Libertadores and takes some of the pressure off the squad that did not win any title in 2023 and was runner-up in the Copa do Brasil last weekend.

The victory in the opening of this 25th round takes Flamengo to 43 points, provisionally entering the G-4, but waiting for the other games of the weekend. The club came from two games without winning in the competition: a draw with Goiás and a defeat against Athletico-PR. In crisis, Bahia remains in the relegation zone, with 25 points.

Next Saturday, at 9 pm, Flamengo returns to São Paulo to face Corinthians at the Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo, for the 26th round. The club will still assess the situation of Pedro and Bruno Henrique, who left the field complaining of pain. Also next Saturday, Bahia will travel to face Goiás at the Hailé Pinheiro stadium, at 4 pm.

In Flamengo’s first game without Jorge Sampaoli, the mission of commanding the Rio stars fell to Mario Jorge, Gávea’s under-20 coach. The interim was unable to count on Arrascaeta, who still feels pain in his left thigh, and kept Gabriel Barbosa on the bench, reinforcing the midfield with Erick Pulgar and Thiago Maia.

On the other side, Rogério Ceni, with the difficult mission of saving Bahia from relegation, returned to Maracanã with an offensive formation: three attackers and two midfielders. Before the ball rolled, Flamengo fans protested in the stands echoing the cry of “shame, shameless team”, a week after losing the Copa do Brasil title to São Paulo.

On the field, Flamengo had two opponents: in addition to Bahia, the squad struggled with nervousness, which grew as the pressure increased in the stands. There were several passing errors and attacking fouls, which undermined the home team’s main opportunities to open the scoring.

Rio’s big chance only appeared in the final stretch of the first half. Ayrton Lucas caught Bruno Henrique on the left and played forward, but was brought down by Yago Felipe. The referee promptly indicated a penalty, but VAR ruled the infraction as a foul outside the area. During the kick, Pulgar sent the ball onto the crossbar.

Second half with emotion

If the first half lacked emotion, the beginning of the second half changed the outlook of the confrontation. With just one minute of play, Gerson took advantage of an incredible mistake by Vitor Hugo and went head to head with Marcos Felipe, but Kanu stopped the move with a foul. Savio received a yellow card, but VAR recommended a review and changed the move to red.

The expulsion of the Bahia defender changed the course of the match – and increased the noise in the stands at Maracanã. With 10 minutes, Gilberto tried to clear the ball from the penalty area, but hit Bruno Henrique’s sole. Penalty scored for Flamengo. After a lot of complaints from Bahia, Pedro charged and opened the scoring in Rio de Janeiro.

With one player less, Bahia could no longer apply the same pressure at the end of the Flamengo game and little by little the home team took control of the match. At 27, Bruno Henrique rose higher than the mark and tested without strength. In pain, goalkeeper Marcos Felipe jumped with great effort to palm the ball.

In the only danger from the Bahians in the second half, at 31, Biel launched an excellent counterattack through the middle and served Luciano Juba. The striker played forward and beat Fabrício Bruno’s run, but lost his pace and hit the middle of the goal, without power, leaving it easy for goalkeeper Rossi to throw for a corner.

Flamengo dropped in performance with the arrival of Gabriel, Luiz Araújo and Everton Cebolinha, but maintained possession of the ball. Flamengo fans, who experienced so much frustration during the season, celebrated the victory at Maracanã as encouragement for the coming months.