Flamengo's under-17 team defeated Atlético-MG by a large score on Wednesday afternoon (08.04), in the category's Copa do Brasil. Those who were at the José Bastos Padilha stadium, in Gávea headquarters, watched the Rubro-Negro win 7-1 and qualified for the quarterfinals of the competition. The next challenge will be against the winner of Corinthians x Bahia, scheduled for 19 pm this Wednesday (08.04).

"I think it was a great game. The boys didn't start very well in the first 15 minutes, but little by little the team settled in and things started to happen. They really had a spectacular second half. We scored seven goals, with all due respect to Atlético-MG; it's a football game. I think the best way to respect your opponent is to play football, scoring goals, and not mess around or do any kind of juggling with the ball. They were very precise in that," said coach Gilmar Popoca, who celebrated the result but urged concentration.

"We need to make it clear to them that they haven't won anything yet, that this is a big-team tournament, a national championship. The seven goals we scored today don't give us any kind of advantage; the next game starts from scratch. Now we have to keep a calm head and keep our feet on the ground. We can celebrate today, but we'll be back to training tomorrow," he said.

 

The game started with a scare. Atlético-MG opened the scoring with a penalty kick just three minutes into the match. Playing at home, Flamengo grew. The equalizer came 14 minutes into the match. Defender Arthur capitalized on a free kick from the right and slotted it into the back of the net. From then on, Flamengo dominated. In the 30th minute, Matheus Iacovelli received the ball inside the box and shot toward goal, but the Galo defense cleared it off the line without a header. And, in the 38th minute, the comeback came. Patrick flicked the ball into the left corner and scored. Two minutes later, Pepê, with a header, extended the lead to 3-1.

Flamengo started the second half with complete control. Within minutes, Lucas and Hugo faced goal and had good chances, but they couldn't get past Atlético's goalkeeper. That was until Arthur took a free kick in the sixth minute to score the fourth for Flamengo. The fifth goal was scored by Lucas, who dribbled beautifully, burst into the box from the left, and fired a shot high. The number 7 also participated in the play for the sixth goal, when he made a cutback inside the box and passed the ball to Matheus Iacovelli, who tapped it into the back of the net. The score was sealed by Klebinho, who dribbled into the box in the 40th minute of the second half and fired a cross-shot.

Defender Arthur, who scored two goals, commented on the beautiful free kick goal: "Free kicks are the result of a lot of training we do at Ninho do Urubu. Every day, after training, we pick up the ball and practice a lot," he said.

Carlos Noval, director of youth football, praised the youngsters. "We won thanks to a very high level of individual and collective performance. We faced a great team, but we were superior throughout the match, executing every action with great tactical and technical efficiency and respecting the opponent throughout. Congratulations to everyone involved on the victory and the hard work," he said.