In front of 55 fans, Flamengo beats Cruzeiro and remains in second place in the Brasileirão
Henrique Dourado's first-half goal secured the 11th Red-Black victory in the competition.
By Lucas Dantas - in
On Father's Day this Sunday, all eyes were on the Maracanã. Flamengo hosted Cruzeiro for the 18th round of the Brazilian Championship and won 1-0 in front of more than 55 spectators. The goal was scored by Henrique Dourado in the first half, keeping Flamengo in second place in the standings with 37 points, close behind São Paulo, who have one more. Next Sunday (19), Flamengo will face Atlético-PR at Arena da Baixada, at 11 am, in the penultimate round of the first half of the season. Before that, the team will face the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarter-finals, on Wednesday (15), against Grêmio, at Maracanã, at 21:45 pm.
With three competitions to play for, coach Mauricio Barbieri only made necessary changes to his starting lineup. Suspended players Cuéllar and Renê were replaced by Piris da Motta and Trauco. Up front, the coach put Henrique Dourado in Uribe's position. The changes didn't alter the team's profile, which went into the game looking for a result from the start and pressing hard in defense. Debutante Piris felt the energy from the stands and didn't lose a single challenge. Paquetá and Diego organized the midfield well, sometimes looking for Vitinho on the left, sometimes Everton Ribeiro on the right to open up plays.
The result was a Cruzeiro team cornered and waiting to counter-attack. However, Flamengo had a tight defense and the chance didn't materialize. With up to 70% possession, Flamengo had the best scoring opportunities from the start. Just seven minutes in, Vitinho made a good play on the left, but his shot was weak and easily saved by Rafael. At 20 minutes, another good opportunity arose with Everton Ribeiro. The midfielder got past his marker and shot well, but the Cruzeiro goalkeeper made another save. However, a minute later, there was no stopping him. The same Everton Ribeiro found Dourado in the area, and the striker flicked the ball in to score his eleventh goal in Flamengo's sacred jersey.
The goal slowed the pace of the game a bit, Cruzeiro started to have more space and almost equalized in the 42nd minute with a header from Henrique that Trauco cleared off the line. Paquetá had a chance to extend the lead with a beautiful shot from outside the area, but the first forty-five minutes...
The second half was the opposite of the first. Few chances, a tight game with many fouls. Flamengo reduced possession and Cruzeiro increased their pressure, but their attacks lacked real danger. In their only good chance, Arrascaeta rose and headed well, but Diego Alves made a beautiful save in the corner to prevent the equalizer. This play affected Flamengo, who, with Paquetá and Everton Ribeiro in quick succession, responded with dangerous long-range shots.
The game cooled down again. That's good, because the victory was secured and Flamengo maintained its position in the standings.