Matheus Gonçalves scores and Flamengo wins hot classic against Botafogo; Mané Garrincha has serious flaws

It was natural for Botafogo fans to be looking forward to the classic. Frustration after the result is also natural. After all, Flamengo indicated in advance that it would take the reserves to Mané Garrincha, in Brasília. The alvinegro was of maximum strength and would have favoritism, which was not confirmed. Red-black victory by 1 to 0, with a goal scored by Matheus Gonçalves. But the match in the Federal District is marked by several sad notes.

The first of them is perhaps the bad refereeing of Tarcizo Pinheiro Caetano, which contributed to the construction of an almost warlike climate. Second, the structural problems of the Federal District Stadium, be it lighting, electricity and security. On and off the field, alvinegros and rubro-negros saw a chaotic classic that is justified by the intemperance of athletes, leaders and even inefficient actions by the public authorities.

Before understanding how the starters alvinegros lost to the reserves, it is necessary to go back a little and highlight some regrettable scenes incompatible with the size of the classic. There was an electrical failure in the stadium, which was not resolved until the start of the match. The Botafogo athletes had to stay in a locker room without light, something that was claimed to interfere with the warm-up. Those of the red-blacks were in normal condition.

This generated a climate of great stress among Botafogo’s directors, which was passed on to the players, who clearly entered the field in a pile. The situation only got worse when Flamengo opened the scoring less than 30 seconds into the match with Mateus Gonçalves.

— The base is for that: for us to get used to it. We are well trained at the base. When we managed to come to the professional, we managed to give our best. With fans, against any team, we can do our best – he said.

In the move, Matheus Gonçalves intercepted Daniel Borges’s pass, invaded the area, beat Carli’s marking and fired at Lucas Perri. Who celebrated on the edge of the pitch was the Portuguese Rui Quintas, who replaced coach Vítor Pereira, who did not go to Brasília by decision of the club itself.

The reality is that, even with starters, Botafogo performed well below expectations. It didn’t take long for part of the crowd from Botafogo to choose the target: Lucas Piazon. He didn’t start well and heard complaints while he was on the field.

With the advantage on the scoreboard, Flamengo closed and tried to bet on counterattacks. Botafogo even took the initiative, but failed to create opportunities. The more time passed, the more nervousness got in the way of the alvinegros and helped the red-blacks.

Then came more problems. With the power outage, the system that allows VAR lines to be drawn stopped working. But that doesn’t mean the tool was dead. Clear bids could still be voided.

The first was Flamengo, who managed to score with André, but the referee indicated an offside. Throw clear. Later, when Botafogo managed to equalize, the video referee annulled Carlos Alberto’s goal. He also didn’t even need the lines to be drawn, so clear was the irregular position. It didn’t stop there being confusion.

In the final minutes, there was turmoil and red cards. Tiquinho Soares was expelled and headbutted the referee. Afterwards, the reserve banks unleashed a huge squabble. Joel Carli was expelled, as well as Marçal on the field.

To complete the show of problems, a fan invaded the Mané Garrincha lawn and the police did little. To the point that the attacker could take the cell phone and record videos inside the field without being disturbed.