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Flamengo defeats Figueirense and is in the quarterfinals of the U-20 Brazil Cup

The Ninho Boys win 3-2 in Gávea and face Bahia in the next round of the competition.

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Playing once again at Gávea Stadium, where they have been virtually unbeatable in recent months, Flamengo's U-20 team defeated Figueirense again, this time 3-2 (Lincoln, João Pedro, and Lucas Silva) in the second leg of the round of 2 of the Brazilian Cup, following a 1-5 victory in the first leg in Florianópolis. With a 3-10 aggregate score, the "Garotos do Ninho" are once again among the top eight teams in the country in a national competition this season (in the São Paulo Cup, the "Rubro-Negro" was eliminated by eventual champion Corinthians in the quarterfinals). In the next stage, the quarterfinals, the "Mais Querido" will face Bahia, the current runner-up, who eliminated Santos on penalties at Vila Belmiro. The first leg will be played in Gávea next week, and the return leg will be played in Salvador, at the Pituaçu Stadium, probably on May XNUMXth.

The solid 2-1 victory in the first leg in Florianópolis gave the "Garotos do Ninho" a sense of calm, having entered the match with the potential to lose as much as 1-0. However, knowing they needed a win, Figueirense came up with a bold game plan and started the match better. In the 13th minute, Flamengo had a scare, but defender Barbosa was offside when he headed the ball against the post. The Santa Catarina team continued to play better, but it was Flamengo who opened the scoring. In the 25th minute, Jean Lucas delivered a superb cross to Lincoln, who rose with style to score the Mais Querido's first goal of the game. Soon after, in the 27th minute, Jean Lucas delivered another beautiful pass to Lincoln, who this time missed the chance. 

The second half began much like the first, with Figueirense attacking more. This time, the Santa Catarina strategy paid off. In the 19th minute, Ceará tied the game with a quick counterattack. The "Garotos do Ninho" (The Nest Boys) regained their composure and quickly regained the lead. In the 23rd minute, Moraes crossed, Lucas Silva passed it to the middle of the box, and João Pedro opportunistically scored the second. Flamengo could have killed the game in the 43rd minute, when Jean Lucas, the match's standout performer, once again passed to Kleber, who arrived at the bottom with great speed and passed to João Pedro, who shot over the bar. The next scare came. In the 45th minute, the defense sloppily slid, and Barbosa equalized again.

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The final minutes were tense, as Figueirense sought the qualifying goal. Flamengo calmly defended and sealed the victory and the qualification with the final play of the match. A deadly counterattack resulted in the ball being passed to Lucas Silva, who dribbled past the goalkeeper and calmly slotted the ball into the net, sending Mengão into the quarterfinals of the U-20 Brazil Cup.

"It was a great game. Just like in the first leg, we could have killed it off right away, but we missed several opportunities and had a scare at the end. But the important thing was that we qualified. This is the best moment of my career. I thank God first and foremost, and all my teammates and coaching staff. We remain strong for the rest of the competition," said Jean Lucas, man of the match.

Flamengo entered the field with Gabriel Batista, Kleber, Dener, Rafael, Moraes, Hugo Moura, Jean Lucas, Lucas Silva, Gabriel Silva (Luiz Henrique), Vinicius Junior (João Pedro) and Lincoln (Loran). Coach: Gilmar Popoca.