In a historic night for Fluminense and São Paulo, the Tricolor of Rio defeated its rival 6-0 at the Maracana Stadium, this Thursday (27), in the 36th round of the Brazilian Championship, and secured its place in the 2026 Copa Libertadores da América.
This was the biggest defeat in the confrontation between the two teams, as it equaled the same result in 2002, but with Sao Paulo winning.
With this result, Fluminense temporarily rose to fifth place with 58 points, and opens up ten points against Sao Paulo, which is in eighth place. Therefore, since there are only two rounds left until the end of the competition, Flo can no longer leave the Group of Seven, the group that guarantees seeding for the Continental Championship.
Coach Hernan Crespo’s team entered the field with 15 absences, 13 of which were due to injury and the suspension of goalkeeper Rafael and defender Sabino. Despite the painful defeat, the team still dreams of a place in the pre-Libertadores stage. But to do that, they have to finish the season in eighth place in the Brazilian championship and hope that either Fluminense or Cruzeiro win the Brazilian Cup. In this way, the Group of Seven turns into the Group of Eight, paving the way for the Sao Paulo team.
In the next round, Flo will return to the field next Tuesday (2), at 9:30 pm, to face Gremio in Porto Alegre, and host Sao Paulo Internacional the next day, at 8 pm, in Villa Belmiro, where it will play its matches when it hosts Morumbis Stadium.
After the match, defender Luiz Gustavo spared no criticism for his team’s defeat, and called on the club members, without mentioning names, to take responsibility for Tricolor’s poor results this season.
He said in an interview with SporTV: “I am a man who learned from birth to be honest. Nothing happens by chance. Today was not a coincidence. Sao Paulo is an institution that I have learned to love, but unfortunately we have to start telling the truth. People have to come and assume some positions, and here we are showing our faces.”
He continued: “It’s our fault. We, the players, who did what we did today, sorry for that word, but I think this club is a very big club, a club that deserves once and for all to start having a direction, a clear plan, what we want from the beginning until the end of the season, and what we want as people here in this club.”
Ultimately, he kept pressuring the board when he asked for action to improve the club.
He added, “I am a person who lives for improvement and development. I hope this club will develop. It is a passionate club, a giant club, much bigger than anyone else here, but it really needs people to put their points of interest in order for this club to continue to develop as everyone expects.”
The goals of the match were scored by Cannobio (two goals), Martinelli, Nonato, John Kennedy and Serna. Fluminense dominated the entire duel. Nine minutes later, Alain Franco put his hand on the ball and the referee awarded a penalty kick after consulting the Video Assistant Technology (VAR). Cannobio opened the scoring. In the next 15 minutes, Flo scored two more goals, through Martinelli and Nonato.
In the second half, the hosts did not slow down and scored three more goals, with JFK, Cannobio and Cerna completing the rout.