After turbulent days that culminated in the change of coach, Flamengo debuted in the Brazilian Championship in the best possible way. Rubro-Negro scored 3-0 in Coritiba, this Sunday afternoon (16), in Maracanã and closes the opening round of the competition tied with Fluminense in the lead, with three points and three goals. Ayrton Lucas, Gabriel and Pedro were the top scorers in the afternoon.
Support from the Nation and goals from the top scorers? victory of @Flamengo! pic.twitter.com/CqwCQfLZom
— Brasileirão Assaí (@Brasileirao) April 16, 2023
Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, announced on Friday (14th) as the team’s new commander, arrived in Rio on Sunday morning and went straight to the Maracanã stadium to watch the match. In the field, who was in charge of the team was Mário Jorge, coach of the under-20 team who acted as interim.
In an atmosphere of pressure due to recent bad results (loss of the Campeonato Carioca and defeat to Maringá in the Copa do Brasil), Flamengo made the fans happy right at the start of the game. In the 11th minute, Ayrton Lucas took a chance from outside the area and hit the left corner of goalkeeper Gabriel to open the scoring with a beautiful goal.
The Rubro-Negro also found the second goal at the beginning, but in the second half. Gerson was brought down inside the area, the referee scored a penalty and Gabriel converted, ending a fast of 10 games without goals for Flamengo. On top of that, he overtook Índio and became the 10th top scorer in the club’s history, with 143 goals.
Two other red-black attackers were featured in the second stage. At 23, Bruno Henrique entered the field after ten months of recovery from a serious injury to his right knee.
At 30 minutes, Pedro replaced Gabriel and at 49 minutes he scored the third, after recovering the ball, countering with Victor Hugo and passing over goalkeeper Gabriel.
GAME END AT @NeoQuimicaArena!
In the debut of the Brasileirão, Timão beat Cruzeiro by the score of 2 to 1!
⚽ Matheus Araújo
⚽ Roger Guedes#CorinthiansDay#Go Corinthians pic.twitter.com/5nawH6VgOo— Corinthians (@Corinthians) April 16, 2023
Corinthians beats Cruzeiro in the debut
Another team pressured by a recent bad result (a 2-0 loss to Remo in the Copa do Brasil), Corinthians debuted with a victory against Corinthians at Neo Química Arena. The goals were all scored in the second half.
Matheus Araújo, who replaced Giuliano in the first half, tackled Fausto Vera at the entrance to the area and touched goalkeeper Rafael Cabral as he left to open the scoring for Timão in the 22nd minute.
At 41 minutes, after a corner kick from the left, Gil headed it in and Róger Guedes scored on the rebound, expanding to Corinthians. The referee Anderson Daronco initially annulled the goal due to a lack of Gil, but after consulting the VAR, he ended up confirming the goal.
In the 50th minute, after a corner from the right, Lucas Oliveira appeared to complete the header and reduce the scoreboard.
Game over: #Guild 1×0 Santos
First step taken and three points in the account in our debut in #Brasileirão2023. João Pedro was the name of the winning goal over Santos in our duel back to Série A, where we belong! GIVE IT TRICOLOR! Let’s go for more! pic.twitter.com/hF4VJp1y88— Grêmio FBPA (@Gremio) April 16, 2023
Suarez misses penalty, but Grêmio beats Santos
The debut of Grêmio – and of the Uruguayan Luis Suárez – in the Brasileirão was away from home, but the fan from Rio Grande do Sul did not fail to show up. Tricolor had to play in Caxias do Sul due to a punishment suffered by the confusion caused by the grêmio fans in a 2022 Série B game. Jaconi.
This did not prevent further turmoil in the stands. At halftime, fans of both teams clashed precisely in the area separating the two fans. Some Santos even invaded the gremista space and ripped flags, but the confusion was controlled.
Shortly before that, Grêmio had opened the scoring with a placed shot by João Pedro from outside the area, beating goalkeeper João Paulo.
On the way back to the second half, after consulting the VAR, the referee gave a penalty to Grêmio after Messias brought down Cristaldo in the area. Luisito Suárez had the chance to score for the first time in a Brazilian Championship, but isolated the charge, over the goal.
Subsequently, the Venezuelan Soteldo was expelled for two yellow cards and Santos did not have the strength to equalize the score.
First round had only one draw
With the opening round of the Brazilian Championship already concluded, nine teams are tied for first place, with three points, but Flamengo and Fluminense have a three-goal balance, while Athletico Paranaense has two. Another six clubs (Botafogo, Bragantino, Corinthians, Palmeiras, Vasco and Grêmio) have a goal difference. Fortaleza and Internacional were responsible for the only draw in the first weekend of the Brasileirão.
After rounds of Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana in the middle of the week, the Brazilian Championship returns next weekend.
