Fluminense thrashes Flamengo and wins the second championship in Rio

In a match bordering on perfection, the Fluminense became two-time champion of the Campeonato Carioca by thrashing Flamengo 4-1, this Easter Sunday, at Maracanã. The highlight was striker Cano, scorer of two goals. He reached 19 for the season.

Second biggest state champion, Fluminense reached 33 conquests, against 37 from Flamengo, which remains the biggest champion of the Carioca Championship.

The result that, while praising the work of Fernando Diniz, pressures Vítor Pereira in charge of Flamengo. The red-black coach missed his fifth chance to win a title in the season. In addition to placing third in the World Cup, he was vice state, in the Guanabara Cup, the Recopa Sul-Americana and the Brazilian Super Cup.

The teams entered the field with surprises. Vítor Pereira bet on an attack with Pedro, Gabriel and Éverton Cebolinha, while Fernando Diniz chose Marcelo and Felipe Melo. The full-back made his debut with the tricolor shirt at Libertadores, in the middle of the week.

On the field, what was seen was an overwhelming dominance of Fluminense. Flamengo was unable to play and was easy prey for Fernando Diniz’s charges, who proved to be enlightened, so much so that the first goal had much of his guidance.

Right after Alexsander sent the ball to the crossbar, Marcelo received it on the right, turned his body towards Éverton Cebolinha and sent it in the back of the net, scoring his first goal in this return to the tricolor club.

The goal gave even more breath to the Fluminense team, which continued to put pressure on Flamengo. In the 31st minute, in a beautiful counter-attack move, Ganso gave Cano a millimetric pass. Decisive, the attacker took it at first to make it 2 to 0. It was the sixth goal of the Argentine against his rival this season.

Flamengo experienced flashes of good times at the end, but even so, they almost conceded the third goal. In the 44th minute, Ganso put Alexsander in front of the goal. The full-back filled his foot, but saw Santos perform a miracle to avoid even greater damage

In the second half, Flamengo returned without Gabriel, which further irritated the fans of the Red-Black team, despite the entry of Éverton Ribeiro. On the field, Vítor Pereira’s team looked like they would bother Fluminense and even demanded a great save from Fábio in a header by Thiago Maia.

But that was it. In an oversight by Fabrício Bruno inside the area, the referee, with the help of VAR, scored a penalty for Fluminense. Cano went for the kick, but kicked over goalkeeper Santos. The attacker took the rebound and made another. At 19, Alexsander increased the lead to 4-0.

The despondency turned out to be evident on the faces of the Flamengo players. At the technical stop, Vítor Pereira hardly showed any reaction, which was also not seen within the four lines. The fans tried, asked for Bruno Henrique, who was listed after almost ten months, but did not enter the field.

The final minutes were tense. There was a beginning of confusion, quickly controlled by the arbitration. The chances were slim. With that, the boos at the Flamengo players and the shouts of “olé” from the Fluminense fans took over.

Even so, Flamengo still managed to reduce in the 50th minute. Matheus França crossed, Nino deflected and Ayrton Lucas scored. However, there was no time to seek a tie, and Fluminense ended up confirming the title.