On a truly inspired night for Léo Moura, Flamengo defeated Cruzeiro 3-1 at Maracanã Stadium this Wednesday in a postponed first-round match of the Brazilian Championship. The star of the match, the right-back scored a stunning goal and was involved in the plays that led to the other two, scored by Souza and Obina.

With the result, Flamengo, which still has one first-round match remaining—against Vasco on October 16th—reached 32 points and now sits in 14th place in the competition's standings. Next Sunday, in a second-round match, Flamengo faces the São Januário club.

Despite having less possession, the red-and-black team created two opportunities to open the scoring in the first fifteen minutes. In the 5th minute, Renato Augusto scored, and in the 14th, Toró shot wide from in front of goal.

The missed chances didn't faze Flamengo; quite the opposite. Sensing their opponent's territorial dominance, they advanced their defense and began to control the action. The improvement paid off in style: in the 27th minute, Souza made a beautiful play down the left wing, crossed to Toró, who headed it to Léo Moura, who slotted it home and opened the scoring with a stunning goal.

Rômulo and Ronaldo Angelim also missed chances to extend their lead in the first half. Cruzeiro, for their part, posed some danger on counterattacks, but without threatening the red-and-black defense.

The same scenario from the end of the first half continued into the second. In the 8th minute, Fábio Luciano turned in a beautiful cross from Léo Moura. On the counterattack in the 13th minute, Raposa nearly equalized through Ramirez after a poor marking by Flamengo's defense.

What seemed to be the breakthrough came in the 20th minute: Léo Moura dribbled past two defenders on the right wing and crossed to Souza's head, who finished without Fábio having a chance to save: 2-0.

At a disadvantage on the scoreboard, Cruzeiro tried to react by betting on the young Kerlon and Guilherme and it worked in the 37th minute, when Kerlon made a good play on the left wing and served Guilherme, who touched the ball past Bruno: 1-2 and apprehension at Maracanã.

The red-and-black fans' lump in their throats, however, lasted exactly six minutes. In a blistering counterattack down the right, Léo Moura passed to Léo Medeiros, who, already in the box, passed to the darling Obina, who had come on just a few minutes earlier. The striker tapped the ball into the back of the net, scoring the third goal and sealing the match's final score.

FLAMENGO 3 X 1 CRUZEIRO

Location: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)\ Referee: Sérgio da Silva Carvalho (DF)\ Assistants: Altemir Hausmann (Fifa/DF) Roberto Braatz (DF)\ Revenue/attendance: R$ 162.679,00 / 11.640 paying spectators and 16.572 present\ Yellow cards: Toró and Souza (FLA); Charles and Ramires (CRU)\ Goals: Léo Moura, in the 27th minute of the first half; Souza, in the 20th minute, Guilherme, in the 37th minute and Obina, in the 43rd minute of the second half.\

FLAMENGO\ Bruno, Leo Moura, Fabio Luciano (Thiago Sales), Ronaldo Angelim and Juan; Romulo, Jailton, Cristian and Toro (Obina); Renato Augusto (Leo Medeiros) and Souza.\ Coach: Joel Santana.\

CRUZEIRO\ Fabio, Jonathan (Luis Alberto) (Guilherme), Emerson, Thiago Heleno and Fernandinho; Charles (Kerlon), Ramires, Wagner and Maicosuel; Roni and Alecsandro.\ Coach: Dorival Júnior.\