There was a lot of pressure from Flamengo, the return of Diego and Éverton to the field and a shot off the post by Vinicius Júnior, but Flamengo drew 0-0 with Botafogo on Sunday morning (4), at the Raulino de Oliveira stadium. After a balanced first half, with only four shots from Mais Querido, Zé Ricardo's men sought the goal in 17 opportunities in the second half, but the ball did not find the net.

With this result, Flamengo has six points – three draws and one win – placing them tenth in the standings. Even without the victory, the team maintained its record of never having lost a derby match in Volta Redonda and extended its unbeaten streak against Botafogo to six games.

The next commitment of Mais Querido is this Wednesday (7), at 21:45 pm, against Sport, at Ilha do Retiro, for the fifth round of the Brazilian Championship. 

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This Monday (5), Rubro-Negro will find out who their opponent will be in the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil, which will be defined by a draw, at 11 am, at CBF. In addition to Botafogo itself, Cruzeiro, Atlético-MG, Palmeiras, Santos, Grêmio and Atlético-PR are the possible rivals in the next phase of the competition.

Botafogo were the first to create a dangerous chance, with a shot from Roger that ended in a great save by Muralha in the ninth minute of the first half. Flamengo's first big opportunity came with Guerrero trying his luck from distance and aiming for Gatito's right corner in the 18th minute.

Flamengo relied on ball possession and had Ederson as the key player; the midfielder sought the ball and created triangles with the wingers on the right and left. In one of these, he initiated a good play in the 20th minute: after clearing the play with a beautiful turn, the number 10 passed to Éverton, who crossed looking for the far post and almost found Arão. The midfielder, like Juan, frequently made himself available for crosses into the area to head the ball. 

The temperature rose and, even with the hydration break, the heat was punishing the athletes on the field, and the game became a midfield battle. Before the whistle, at 41 minutes, Éverton almost reached the ball in a challenge with Gatito to try a lob, but the ball escaped him by a narrow margin.

At the end of the first half, Flamengo had four shots on goal compared to two for the opposing team, with Flamengo holding 56% possession.

This time, the ninth minute brought a great chance for Flamengo. After a pass from his compatriot Trauco, Guerrero won beautifully against Igor Rabello and shot, face to face with Gatito, but the ball hit the Corinthians goalkeeper's knee, then deflected off Rabello himself, went towards the goal, but went over the bar, very close to the crossbar.

Zé Ricardo's first substitution came in the 14th minute. The coach took off Cuéllar and brought on Diego, who returned to the pitch after 11 games out. In the 21st minute, it was Vinicius Júnior's turn to enter the game, much to the delight of the fans; the youngster replaced Ederson.

From that point on, Flamengo began to apply pressure, trapping Botafogo in their own half.

At 24 minutes, Trauco put Flamengo in front of goal once again, with a sweet chip for Éverton. The left-footed number 22 shot first time, but with his right foot, and the ball went just wide of the post.

Minutes later, it was young Vinicius' turn to excite the crowd with a great play down the left: the number 20 dribbled past two defenders and crossed to Éverton, who couldn't get a shot off.

At 29, Pará took advantage of a rebound and tried a long-range shot, but missed the target.

Then, after another five minutes of play, Guerrero stole the ball and then took a powerful shot from midfield, the ball going just wide of Gatito's right post.

At 37, Vinicius Jr., who once again entered the game full of energy and personality, took a first-time shot that exploded off the defense. And he didn't stop there: at just 16 years old, he received a low pass from Éverton and sent it with all his might, perfectly placed, to kiss the crossbar and raise the spirits of the Flamengo fans.

At 41 minutes, Diego took a free kick from the left directly towards the goal, at the far post, which almost surprised Gatito and forced the goalkeeper to stretch fully to prevent the ball from going into the top corner. At 46 minutes, he tried again, the ball hit the defense and went out for a corner. From the corner, more pressure and another corner. 

But despite Flamengo's blitz in the second half, which lasted until the final seconds of the match, the derby ended in a 0-0 draw.