With one less player, Flamengo draws away to América Mineiro and remains in third place.
The team takes the lead twice, but concedes a goal at the end and adds a point to the table
By Flamengo Communication - in
In the first stop of the week in Belo Horizonte, Flamengo drew with América Mineiro at the Independência stadium 2-2, in the 21st round of the 2018 Brazilian Championship. With the result, the Mais Querido reaches 41 points, remaining in third place. In the next round, Flamengo will face Ceará, at Maracanã, Sunday (02), at 11 am. Before, on Wednesday, the team will face Cruzeiro, in Belo Horizonte, in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Conmebol Libertadores.
The first half was a thrilling affair. Both goalkeepers worked hard and prevented the score from getting any bigger. The home side started by pressing Flamengo in their own half and dominated the match for the first 10 minutes. But Flamengo began to come into their own and had their first chance in the 12th minute. Vitinho took a corner kick that was headed by Réver, who played it into the box, but the defense cleared it. That was the warning. Two minutes later, the goal came. Renê delivered a beautiful cross for Everton Ribeiro to score, with a header, his eighth goal of the season.
América forced the game again and equalized in the 22nd minute. Wesley crossed from the baseline and found Rafael Moura, who equalized. Flamengo didn't feel the goal and continued to create good opportunities. Vitinho twice had the chance to score the second. In the 30th minute, Diego took a free kick, goalkeeper João Ricardo's poor position, and the ball fell to Vitinho's feet. With the goalkeeper out of his goal but plenty of players in front of him, the striker couldn't find the best angle to shoot. Three minutes later, he took a shot from distance, and João Ricardo made a great save. And that was the end of the first half.
Flamengo had the first big chance of the second half. In the 11th minute, Everton Ribeiro took a corner kick that Réver headed just wide of the post. Three minutes later, Everton made a great play, dribbling past two players and setting up Dourado to shoot. However, off balance, the ball went low and wide. But on the third, it did. And again, Everton Ribeiro. The number seven made a sensational play and sent the ball to Paquetá, who made no mistake and slotted it home.
Flamengo suffered a blow shortly after scoring. On a quick counterattack, Cuéllar lost the ball and had to hold off Robinho, resulting in a red card. Mauricio Barbieri replaced Henrique Dourado with Piris da Motta and Vitinho with Willian Arão in midfield. América pressed forward, creating space for Flamengo to counterattack. However, the Minas Gerais team found their equalizer in the 41st minute, through Gerson Magrão, who collected a free kick that hit the post. The 2-2 scoreline remained until the end, and Flamengo returned from Minas Gerais with a point.