Heading to the round of 8! Needing to win by two goals, Flamengo put on a great performance and thrashed Maringá 2-26 on Wednesday night (4), at Maracanã, and secured qualification for the round of 9 of the Copa do Brasil. Thiago Maia, Pedro (XNUMX), Gabi, Gerson and Cebolinha scored the goals for Mengão. Highlight for the great performance of the number XNUMX, who found the net four times.

The game
Flamengo started the match by attacking Maringá and opened the scoring at the Maracanã Stadium after just two minutes. Cebolinha took a corner kick from the left, the defense poorly cleared it, and the ball fell to Thiago Maia, who unleashed a powerful shot that bulged the net: 1-0.

After the goal, the red-and-black team continued to attack, exchanging passes to try to find space in the Paraná defense, which closed in on the counterattacks. And it didn't take long for Mengão to score the second! In the 18th minute, Cebolinha once again took a corner kick into the box, Pedro rose higher than the defense and headed it firmly into the goal: 2-0.

Maringá barely got the ball out, but Mais Querido recovered and narrowly missed extending the lead. Gabi passed the ball to Wesley in the box, who chipped Raphinha and found himself face-to-face with Dheimison. Under pressure from his defense, the full-back ended up shooting straight at the goalkeeper.

In the 28th minute, the third goal came naturally. Gerson dribbled past two defenders in the box and was brought down. The referee, on the spot, awarded a penalty. Gabi, with her usual skill, simply displaced the goalkeeper to extend the lead and cheer along with the Nation: 3-0.

Mengão's pace was intense, giving Maringá no breathing room. In the 34th minute, Ayrton Lucas launched a pass into the box, and Wesley headed the ball into the middle at the far post. The ball fell to Everton Ribeiro, who fired a powerful shot. Dheimison saved the Paraná team. Four minutes later, Maringá pulled one back with an own goal from Fabrício Bruno. After a corner, the ball hit the red-and-black defender and went in: 3-1.

In stoppage time, the Red-Blacks scored their fourth! After a back-and-forth in Maringá's half, Ayrton Lucas found Gerson unmarked at the edge of the box. The all-star forward struck hard to bulge the net: 4-1. Mengão went into halftime with the result they needed to qualify.

In the second half, Flamengo maintained their strong pace and continued to exchange passes in the attacking half. Maringá struggled to get the ball out of the net and barely threatened Santos' goal. Sampaoli's team extended their lead even further in the 12th minute. On a counterattack, Cebolinha sprinted downfield and passed to Gabigol. The number 10 passed the ball back to Cebolinha, who dribbled past the goalkeeper and tapped it into the net: 5-1.

In the 19th minute, Maringá scored their second goal with striker Bruno Lopes, who unleashed a powerful shot that deflected off Serginho before going in: 5-2. But the Paraná team didn't have time to get excited, because two minutes later, Flamengo scored their sixth! After exchanging passes, Gerson reached the baseline and sent a low cross into the middle of the box. Pedro, with his opportunism, simply tapped it into the back of the net. It was the number 9's second goal of the match: 6-2.

In the final stretch, even with a large lead, the Red-Blacks continued to create chances up front. Don't miss the chance! In the 39th minute, Pedro scored the seventh goal! Gabi picked up the rebound in the box and found Vidal, who headed it down the middle, and the number 9 arrived alone to complete the 7-2 victory.

To cap off the rout, Pedro, on an inspired night, scored Mengão's eighth goal and his fourth of the match. Marinho advanced down the left and tried to pass the ball to Gabi, but the defense cleared it. Vidal got the rebound and passed it to the number 9, who fired a powerful shot to complete a great performance for the red-and-blacks at the Maraca!

Next appointment
Rubro-Negro returns to the field next Sunday (30) for the classic against Botafogo, at 16 pm, at Maracanã, for the third round of the Brasileirão.

Flamengo lineup
Santos; Wesley (Marinho), Fabrício Bruno, David Luiz and Ayrton Lucas; Thiago Maia (Vidal), Gerson (Victor Hugo) and Everton Ribeiro (Leo Pereira); Cebolinha (Matheus Gonçalves), Gabi and Pedro.
Coach: Jorge Sampaoli.

Maringá lineup
Dheimison; Lucas Lopes, Wesley and Max Miller; Raphinha (Caíque), Erick Varão (Rodrigo Alves), Serginho and Cesinha (Matheus Blade); Iago Santana, Bruno Lopes and Gustavo Ramos (Luiz Thiago).
Coach: Jorge Castilho.

Technical sheet
Flamengo 8x2 Maringá - Second leg of the Third phase of the Copa do Brasil
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 26/04/2023 at 21:30 pm
Arbitration: Raphael Claus, Fabrini Bevilaqua Costa and Daniel Luis Marques
Yellow cards: Raphinha (MAR), Ayrton Lucas (FLA), Bruno Lopes (MAR), Wesley (FLA), and Serginho (MAR)
Goals: Thiago Maia (2'1st half), Pedro (18'1st half, 21'2nd half, 39'2nd half and 42'2nd half), Gabi (29'1st half), Fabrício Bruno (38'1st half), Gerson (48'1st half), Cebolinha (12'2nd half) and Bruno Lopes (19'2nd half).