Defending the São Paulo Junior Football Cup title, Flamengo took to the field on Thursday afternoon (3) and beat River-PI 4-0. The match, held at the Alfredo Chiavegato Municipal Stadium in Jaguariúna, was the red-black team's debut in the tournament. Bill scored three goals and Rodrigo Muniz scored the fourth in the victory.

The Garotos do Ninho return to the field next Sunday (6), at 16 pm, when they face Trindade-GO in the second round of the competition. The opponents beat Jaguariúna in the first match by 3 to 0.

The first half was a time of intense teamwork and few real scoring chances. With control of the ball and attacks down the flanks, Flamengo performed better and applied pressure during the first 45 minutes, but were ultimately thwarted by the opponent's well-positioned defense. The two best chances fell to Wendel, who finished brilliantly in the sixth minute and provided a beautiful pass to Vitor Gabriel in the 21st, but neither opportunity was converted into goals.

In the second half, Rio de Janeiro's favorite team started strong. In the seventh minute, Bill received the ball at the edge of the box, adjusted it, and sent a beautiful shot into the back of the net, opening the scoring. After that, River held off even more pressure from Flamengo, who came very close to extending their lead on a few occasions.

In another great chance, this one in the 27th minute, Luiz Henrique took a free kick in the box and the ball fell to Bill again, who simply displaced the goalkeeper and scored to make it 2-0. The number 7, however, was still not satisfied. In a quick play, he burst into the box, shot well and scored the third goal of the afternoon in the 33rd minute.

To complete the score, Rodrigo Muniz, who came on in the final stage, received a perfect pass from Bill and made no mistake, closing the debut score at 4-0 for Mais Querido.

Flamengo lineup: Yago Darub; Vitor Ricardo, Aderlan, Patrick and Michael; Henrique, Luiz Henrique and Reinier; Bill, Wendel and Vitor Gabriel. Coach: Maurício Souza.