César saves another penalty in the final minutes and secures a victory for Flamengo.

The goalkeeper pointed to the corner for Gabriel and went to make the save. In the end, he left to cheers from the fans.

By Flamengo Communication - in 15/11/2018 às 20:16

The goal was scored by Henrique Dourado, but in football, it's not only what happens up front that matters in a match. In the 1-0 victory over Santos this Thursday at the Maracanã, the key moment was César's save on Gabriel's penalty kick in the 43rd minute of the second half, which sealed the three points for Flamengo. The goalkeeper had already made a great save against the same Gabriel in the 20th minute, when the Santos striker went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and shot hard, but César made the save.

Even though he emerged as one of the heroes on the field, the number 37 made a point of thanking and praising his teammates for the victory and the three points earned at the Maracanã.

"A"I thank God for the opportunity to help the team, but the main thing is that our group manages to achieve its objectives. In each game we have done our best and today we got the three points which will be very important for the end of the championship. We have four games ahead and, regardless of whether we win or not, we will seek the result in each of these matches and see what is in store for us at the end."

It wasn't the first time César saved the team at the end. Against Junior Barranquilla, in the 2017 Copa Sudamericana semi-final, the goalkeeper saved Chará's penalty when the score was still 1-0. Once again a standout, he preferred to thank the team and their defensive preparation, as well as the pre-match analysis, and even teased the player, pointing out which side he would dive to for the shot.

"A "People try to do something that can unbalance the penalty taker. These are game strategies. We study the penalty taker, but the penalty isn't saved just by me, but by the entire preparation team and every goalkeeper who cheered for me to crown our work in a positive way," said César, who shared an interesting fact before the kick, demonstrating the team's unity.

""Before the penalty, my shoelaces were untied, and Pará went over to tie them. At that moment, he told me, 'César, you're going to save it.' And what I heard from all my teammates was the same confidence at that moment, the last of the game. We needed to hope it wouldn't be a goal, and everyone gave me strength for that, and it worked out," César concluded.