Flamengo missed the opportunity this Saturday to provisionally assume the leadership of the Brazilian Championship by losing 1-0 in their visit to Strength and now he will have to face the possibility that Palmeiras isolate himself at the top when he receives Cruzeiro this Sunday. Breno Lopes opened the scoring for Fortaleza in the 11th minute, assisted by Argentine striker José Herrera, after a quick counterattack.
The Rio team, under the command of coach Filipe Luis, remains in second place in the standings, with 61 points, the same as Palmeiras, but with fewer victories and one more game. The locals, led by Martín Palermo, showed defensive intensity and effectiveness in passing, while the Rio team did not arrive with the expected vigor after beating Racing 1-0 at the Maracaná last Wednesday in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semifinals.
Flamengo ruled out the possibility of lining up substitutes despite the fact that next Wednesday they will have to define one of the finalists of the continental tournament in Argentina. The attack of the Rio team was marked at the beginning by Samuel Lino and Emerson Royal, while Jorginho and the Uruguayan Giorgian de Arrascaeta were constant support from start to finish.
Bruno Henrique, however, did not measure up to Pedro and could not replace the forward on the field, absent due to injury after suffering a fracture in his forearm in the match with Racing. Although Flamengo dominated the ball, technical errors gave the option for Fortaleza’s first goal in the seventh minute, with Bareiro, but Ayrton Lucas managed to defend above the line.
Samu Lino had the equalizer before the break
Brenno’s goal came almost immediately, and the forward repeated it seven minutes later, but the second was annulled by the referee. Samuel Lino wasted the best opportunity for Flamengo in the 43rd minute, when he received completely free inside the area, but instead of shooting directly at goal, he opted for a pass into the middle that was cleared by the hosts’ defense.
Other options were given for ‘Mengão’ in the second half with the Spanish Saúl Ñíguez, but mainly with De Arrascaeta. The Uruguayan became the main strategist but, despite insisting tirelessly until the last minute, he was unable to finish due to lack of aim. With the result, those led by Palermo began to move away from the relegation zone, although they are still at risk.
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In other matches of the day, Fluminense beat Internacional 1-0 at the Maracaná in Rio de Janeiro with a goal from Samuel Xavier that was assisted by Colombian Kevin Serna. In Belo Horizonte, Ecuadorian midfielder Alan Escarpa defined the dispute with Ceará for Atlético Mineiro by scoring the first and only goal of the match at 24 seconds. The fastest goal of the current season.
For its part, Mirasol, the surprise in the current season and which is in fourth place, won by 1-2, in its visit to the bottom Sport in Recife. This Sunday the thirtieth day of the Brazilian League will continue with the following matches: Botagofo-Santos, Gremio-Juventude, Bragantino-Vasco da Gama and Palmeiras-Cruzeiro.
