Flamengo mixes superiority, obscurity and satisfaction in a win that provides more lessons for the final stage of the Brazilian championship

• The perfect tour: Palmeiras was defeated by Mirasol and Flamengo and came back to equal the result of the Brazilian leader
• “Let it serve as a lesson”: Filipe Luis dismissed concerns about the power outage Flamengo suffered in the win over Santos

The goals of Leo Pereira, Carrascal and Bruno Henrique were the highlights of a match in which the team knew how to excel and develop naturally, until it was subjected to an unexpected struggle due to loss of consciousness in the last minutes, when Gabriel Bontempo and Lautaro Diaz scored.

-I hate conceding goals, and I really appreciate the defensive phase. I think defense is the best weapon to win championships. About this fear, let it serve as a lesson to us. In the Brazilian league and in world football, if you let your guard down for a minute, it will cost you dearly. I already told them (the players). It doesn’t worry me. It’s a separate case. But yeah, it hurts me. I hate for this to happen – said coach Filipe Luis.

The next FIFA date will not be a comfortable one, as there is a postponed match with bottom side Sport next Saturday – Palmeiras visit Santos on the same day. Filipe Luis will miss several times from the national teams, but he will arrive in Recife alive and well. A kind of motivation necessary to face the teams at the bottom of the table, which the team insists on dropping points.

Against Santos, the unwavering support of nearly 70,000 people was important in untying the knots on the pitch as well as tying the ends together. Especially since during almost the entire first half, passing errors and lack of concentration were evident again.

The cry for the goal came only after 36 minutes, and in a move contributed to by luck. On a corner kick from the left side, Leo Pereira saw the ball reach him after bouncing inside the area, so the defender touched it. After being sold in this move, Gabriel Brazão was unable to do anything.

Up to that point, the black and white goalkeeper had received little demand. The best result for the home team was a shot over Arrascaeta, after Bruno Henrique played futsal on the baseline. In fact, Number 10 has been a candidate to be the protagonist since before the start of the game. With his contract renewed until 2028, he was honored in warm-ups and the crowd applauded him.

Being Flamengo’s idol in the final stretch of his seventh season, Arasca experienced a wave of emotions, especially in the second half. It only took five minutes for him to fire a wonderful shot to put Carrascal in front of the goalkeeper, and the Colombian hit the ball with power and expansion. Soon after, he had the chance to put the icing on the cake with a penalty kick, but the ball exploded off the post.

There was another star on the pitch, but nowadays Neymar has become an unnecessary or disappointing headline. Those hoping to see him regain the level of football that would lead the Brazilian team to a World Cup title saw once again a very unproductive player who was more interested in complaining to referees and teammates. In contrast to the defeat in the first round, when the goal was scored, Flamengo raised the wall and were accompanied by fans who booed the opponent at every touch.

In the second half, he was substituted in the 39th minute, immediately after Bruno Henrique received a pass from Igor Vinicius and made the score 3-0. And he didn’t like it. But by chance, the team improved.