In the eighth round of the Carioca, Flamengo went to Aracaju-SE and beat Bangu 3-0, on Thursday night (15), at Batistão stadium. Pedro, reaching his sixth hat-trick with the Manto Sagrado, was the author of the three red-black goals. With the result, Mengão added 18 points and took the lead in the championship with the same score as Fluminense, with an advantage in goal difference.  

The game
With Batistão packed with Flamengo fans, Flamengo began the match valuing possession and seeking to exchange passes in the attacking half. Bangu, in turn, pushed their defenses forward to make it difficult for Flamengo to get the ball out.

With the opposing defense tightly closed, Mengão circulated the ball, trying to create space in the Bangu defense. Until the 24th minute, Mengão opened the scoring in Aracaju! Arrascaeta delivered a beautiful pass to Pedro, who controlled the ball in midfield, spun past his marker, and slotted it past the goalkeeper with the toe of his boot: 1-0.

After the goal, Flamengo continued to pressure Bangu and narrowly avoided extending their lead in the 28th minute. Arrascaeta lofted the ball into the box, Fabrício Bruno managed to deflect it, and Gerson, unmarked, fired a shot straight at the goalkeeper, who sent it out for a corner. In complete control, Flamengo went into halftime with the advantage.

At the start of the second half, the game became more lively, with Bangu opening up more and pushing forward to equalize. But it was Mengão who doubled the lead in the 12th minute. After a good collective play, Igor Jesus managed to regain possession, Pedro fought his marker at the edge of the box and passed to Luiz Araújo on the right. He returned the ball to the number 9 who simply tapped it into the net: 2-0.  

Even with two up front, Flamengo didn't let up and continued to attack in search of more goals. In the 25th minute, Léo Pereira took a shot on the diagonal, but Pedro managed to deflect it, and the ball sailed just wide of the post. Shortly after, Igor Jesus unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box, forcing the goalkeeper to stretch to palm it away.

Next, after a corner kick was taken into the box, Fabrício Bruno headed powerfully, the goalkeeper rebounded it to Pedro, who slotted it into the net for his hat trick of the match: 3-0. Replacing Arrascaeta, Gabi took a shot from outside the box, but the goalkeeper deflected it for a corner. The Red-Blacks still had a few opportunities to score a fourth.

The game ended in Aracaju with a victory for Mengão, who took the lead in the Carioca with 18 points.

Next appointment
Rubro-Negro returns to the field next Tuesday (20) to face Boavista, at 21:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the 9th round of Carioca.

Flamengo
Rossi; Varela, Fabricio Bruno, Leo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Igor Jesus (Rayan Lucas), Gerson and Arrascaeta (Gabi); Luiz Araújo (Bruno Henrique), Everton Cebolinha (Matheus Gonçalves) and Pedro (Victor Hugo).
Coach: Tite.  

Bangu
Gabriel Leite; Saulo (Yaya Banhoro), Lucas Araújo, Victor Oliveira and Erick Daltro; Felipe Soares, Renatinho (Walney), Adsson (Baltoré) and Raphael Augusto; João Victor (Ronald Barbosa) and Anderson Lessa (Edgar Neto).
Coach: França Jr.  

Technical sheet
Bangu 0x3 Flamengo – 8th Round of the Carioca Championship
Location: Batistao Arena, Aracaju (SE)
Date and time: 15/02/2024 at 21:30 pm
Refereeing: Jodis Nascimento de Souza, Marcus Vinicius Brandão and Lucas Castro dos Santos
Yellow cards: Renatinho (BAN) and Igor Jesus (FLA)
Goals: Pedro (24'1st half, 12'2nd half and 28'2nd half).