Flamengo's U-20 team, led by coach Marcio Torres, played a classic match against Vasco on Wednesday afternoon (22) at São Januário, valid for the third round of the second phase of the Brazilian Championship of the Category. Despite taking the lead in the opening minutes with a header from Matheus Dantas, Mais Querido suffered the comeback and lost 2-1. Even so, they remain in the isolated lead of Group F, with six points won. Fluminense and Vasco have four points, and Coritiba has three. Flamengo and Vasco face each other again next Thursday, at 17 pm, again broadcast by SporTV, in Volta Redonda. 

Knowing that a victory would put Flamengo one foot in the Brazilian Championship semifinals, the Boys from the Nest came out very focused and took the lead with their first attack. Five minutes in, Klebinho took a free kick that was headed by Matheus Dantas. The defender shook off his marker and rose beautifully, with style, to head the ball past goalkeeper João Pedro, who could do nothing but retrieve the ball from the back of the net.

Vasco continued to dominate and nearly extended their lead shortly after. In the eighth minute, Vitor Gabriel unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box. João Pedro palmed it into the middle of the box, but Reinier was caught offside on the rebound. The derby was a lively affair. In the 12th minute, Vasco threatened with a free kick from Lucas Santos, which sailed over Hugo Souza's goal. In the 15th minute, Bill faced his defender and struck hard. The ball deflected and hit João Pedro's crossbar.

The pace was frenetic. Vasco created a threat in the 19th minute. Moresche fired a first-time shot, the ball deflected off Matheus Dantas and almost deceived Hugo Souza. But the goalkeeper was quick and made a great save. In the 24th minute, Wendel carried the ball through the attacking midfield and delivered a beautiful pass to Vitor Gabriel. The center forward controlled the ball inside the box and struck quickly with his left foot, posing a threat to the Vasco goal. In the 32nd minute, Bill played a one-two with Reinier, burst into the opponent's box, and fired a cross. The ball was about to pass between João Pedro's legs, but hit his heel and stopped almost on the line. In the final play of the first half, Wendel launched a fast counterattack and passed to Klebinho. The full-back appeared well in the box, but advanced too far and wasted a great chance, the last of a first half completely dominated by Flamengo.

The second half, however, was different. Vasco equalized in the sixth minute through Marrony, and the derby became very even. In the 26th minute, after a corner kick, Vitor Gabriel challenged the defense in the air, and the ball fell to Michael. He struck hard, but the ball capriciously bounced off the crossbar, bounced off the goal line, and wouldn't go in. Vasco had a great chance in the 29th minute, but Hugo Souza closed the angle well and prevented the goal. The next minute, the winning goal came through João Pedro. The Rubro-Negro still had good chances with Rodrigo Muniz, Rafael Santos, and Matheus Dantas and pressed for an equalizer in the final minutes, but could not equalize. 

Flamengo: Hugo Souza, Klebinho, Matheus Dantas, Rafael Santos, Michael; Hugo Moura, Luiz Henrique (Rodrigo Muniz), Reinier (Henrique); Bill (Vitor Ricardo), Wendel (Yuri) and Vitor Gabriel. Coach: Marcio Torres.