In the first leg of the U-20 Rio Cup final, Flamengo beat Volta Redonda 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon (20), in Gávea. Mengão's goals were scored by Petterson, Mateusão ​​and Andre Luiz.

The teams will face each other again next Wednesday (27), at 14:45 pm, at Raulino de Oliveira, for the second leg of the final. Rubro-Negro can even lose by one goal and still win the competition.

The game
The Ninho Boys started the match with the majority of possession and passing in the attacking half. In the fifth minute, Petterson made a good play on the left side of the box and was brought down, but the referee allowed play to continue and didn't award a penalty. In the 9th minute, Santiago took the ball to the byline and crossed low to Petterson, who beat the ball, pressed by the Volta Redonda defense, and the ball went out for a corner.

Flamengo continued to maintain possession in attack and tried to penetrate the opponent's box. After the technical timeout, the game became lukewarm, with few clear-cut scoring chances. Until the 42nd minute, Mengão opened the scoring! Marquinhos found Petterson free at the edge of the box, waited for the goalkeeper to come out, and then delivered a classy touch into the back of the net: 1-0. The Mais Querido went into halftime ahead.

Early in the second half, Flamengo extended their lead! Petterson delivered a sweet pass to Mateusão, who had just entered the match. The center forward calmly beat the goalkeeper to score Mengão's second goal: 2-0.

Right after the goal, Gregório pulled one back for the Volta Redonda team: 2-1. But Mengão didn't let it go, and scored the third goal in the 17th minute. Mateusão, inside the area, passed the ball to Andre Luiz, who just completed it into the net: 3-1.

Even with the advantage, the red-and-black team continued to attack. In the 33rd minute, Andre Luiz received the ball in the six-yard box and attempted to chip it past the goalkeeper, who managed to make the save. In the final stretch of the match, Flamengo managed its advantage well and emerged victorious in the first leg of the Taça Rio final.

Next appointment
The Garotos do Ninho return to the field next Saturday (23) to face Bahia, at 15 pm, in Gávea. The match is valid for the 7th round of the Brasileirão Sub-20.

Flamengo lineup
Dyogo; Santiago, Iago, Darlan and Richard (Zé Welinton); Evertton (Igor Jesus), Marquinhos (Mateusão) and Jean Carlos (André Junior); Petterson (Ryan Luka), Pedro Arthur (Kayke David) and Andre Luiz.
Coach: Mario Jorge.

Technical sheet
Flamengo 3x1 Volta Redonda – Game 1 of the U-20 Rio Cup Final
Location: José Bastos Padilha Stadium, Gávea
Date and time: 20/07/2022 at 14:45 pm
Referee: Carlos Tadeu de Castro
Assistants: Weverton dos Santos and Rafael Braga Gonçalves
Yellow cards: Bahia (VRE), Iago (FLA) and Vinicius (VRE)
Goals: Petterson (42'1st), Mateusão ​​(5'2nd half), Gregório (9'2nd half) and Andre Luiz (17'2nd half).