It was with the talent of Argentine Maxi Biancucchi and the determination of the nine players who remained on the field after Juan and Roger were sent off in the second half that Flamengo managed to win the classic against Fluminense 1-0, on Thursday night, at Maracanã, in a postponed game from the 11th round of the Brazilian Championship.

The only goal of the game was scored by striker Maxi Biancucchi in the 43rd minute of the first half. Flamengo returns to the field next Sunday at 16 pm to face Palmeiras at Parque Antártica.

The two teams started the match studying each other, and no major chances were created from either side. Flamengo dominated territorially, and Fluminense, despite having less time on the ball, threatened for the first time. In the 16th minute, Romeu, almost in the six-yard box, fired a rebound from the Flamengo defense wide.

Flu missed another good chance with a shot from Arouca in the 27th minute, but Flamengo capitalized on their chance. In the 43rd minute, Juan led a counterattack from the defensive half and set up Maxi. The Argentine, who had nearly opened the scoring minutes earlier with a fine move down the left, burst into the box and this time made no mistake: he slotted the ball into the left corner of Ricardo Berna's net.

At a disadvantage on the scoreboard, Fluminense returned to the second half looking to attack more and in the first 10 minutes missed good opportunities to tie the match with conclusions from Somália, three times, and Maurício.

The game changed in the 14th minute, with the sending off of left-back Juan. Soon after, Thiago Neves took a free kick into the corner, and Bruno made a great save. Things were already difficult for Flamengo with a man down, and they got even more so in the 30th minute, when Roger was also sent off.

From then on, the red-and-black team held on to the victory with grit and the support of the fans. Fluminense pressed and almost equalized in one of the game's final plays, but Somália again shot wide after a free kick from the right, and the game ended with Flamengo's victory.

FLUMINENSE 0 X 1 FLAMENGO

Location: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro\ Date: 16/08/07\ Revenue / Attendance: R$ 759.126,00 / 49.828 paying spectators\ Referee: Evandro Rogério Roman (PR)\ Assistants: Rogério Carlos Rolim and Aparecido Donizetti Santana (PR)\ Yellow Cards: Arouca and Luiz Alberto (FLU); Juan, Léo Moura, Maxi Biancucchi, Obina and Roger (FLA).\ Red Cards: Juan and Roger (FLA).\ GOAL: Maxi Biancucchi, in the 43rd minute of the first half.\

FLUMINENSE\ Ricardo Berna, David, Thiago Silva, Luiz Alberto and Roger; Romeu (Cicero), Arouca, Maurício (Leo) and Thiago Neves; Soares and Somalia.\ Coach: Renato Gaúcho.\

FLAMENGO\ Bruno, Leo Moura, Fabio Luciano, Ronaldo Angelim and Juan; Romulo, Cristian, Ibson (Jailton) and Roger; Maxi Biancucchi (Obina) and Paulo Sergio (Egidio).\ Coach: Joel Santana.\