It was through grit, love, passion... and faith in Saint Jude Thaddeus! But not because of their game, which was easy. Flamengo thrashed Bonsucesso by a merciless 8-0 (Kleber, Rafael [2], Lincoln, Vinícius Junior [2], Loran and Lucas Silva) on Saturday afternoon (15.04), in Gávea. However, the thrashing would have been worthless if Madureira had defeated Resende in Conselheiro Galvão, in a match played at the same time. 

At the end of the Flamengo match in Gávea, players and fans gathered online on their cell phones to watch the final minutes of their opponent's battle for qualification to the semifinals of the Guanabara Under-20 Cup. Just when hopes seemed to be over, in the 49th minute of the second half, in the final play of the match, Resende tied the game and the Boys of the Nest were finally able to celebrate – and celebrate! – securing their spot in the decisive stage of the competition. Flamengo now awaits the definition of their opponent, which could be Fluminense or Vasco, in a single match that will likely be played next Saturday (April 22.04), away from home, either in Xerém or São Januário. Before that, the Mais Querido travels to Florianópolis to face Figueirense on Wednesday (April 19.04), in the round of XNUMX of the Copa do Brasil.

The rout began in the 19th minute, when Michael crossed and Kleber simply tapped in to open the scoring. In the 24th minute, Vinícius Junior took a free kick and Rafael headed in the second. In the 35th minute, the defender added another, a beautiful shot from outside the box, into the corner. A stunning goal! Rubro Negro still had time to extend their lead in the first half. In the 44th minute, Lincoln took advantage of a blunder by the goalkeeper, stole the ball, and rolled it into the empty net.

Four turns, eight ends. Flamengo didn't stop, continuing to attack, denying Bonsucesso a breather. In the 18th minute, Vinícius Junior scored a beautiful goal with a characteristic finish from outside the box. Soon after, in the 19th minute, Lucas Silva crossed, and Vinícius Junior rolled the ball home again to score Mengão's sixth. In the 35th minute, Hugo Moura passed to Loran, who shook off the defender and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper. Don't miss the count! In the final play of the game, Kleber crossed and Lucas Silva headed home the Garotos do Ninho's biggest win in the current edition of the State Championship: 8-0!

Flamengo entered the field with Gabriel Batista, Kleber, Dener, Rafael, Michael, Hugo Moura, Jean Lucas, Lucas Silva, Gabriel Silva (Juninho), Vinícius Junior (Brayan) and Lincoln (Loran).

Mengão's U-15 and U-17 teams also won, both maintaining a 100% record in the state championships in their respective categories. Opening Saturday's action, the U-15 team defeated São Cristovão 2-0 (Oliveira and Pedro Peçanha), earning their fifth victory in five rounds. The same went for the U-17 team, which also defeated São Cristovão 2-0 (Ítalo and Rhyan), also earning their fifth victory in five championship matches. Both categories are preparing this week to face Volta Redonda next Saturday (April 22.04), again in Gávea.