In the last round of the first half of the Brasileirão, Flamengo drew 1-1 with São Paulo, this Sunday (13), at Maracanã. Pedro, from a penalty, scored the red-black goal in the second half's stoppage time.

Now, Jorge Sampaoli's team focuses on the second leg of the Copa do Brasil semifinals, against Grêmio, next Wednesday, at Maraca.

The game
The first few minutes of the game saw Flamengo exchanging passes and São Paulo pressing up to make it difficult for the team to transition from defense to attack. Gradually, São Paulo began to come out more, exchanging passes near the red-and-black box.

In the 24th minute, Bruno Henrique sped down the left, cut past two defenders, and crossed into the box, but no one was able to finish the move. In the closing stages of the first half, São Paulo opened the scoring. Lucas Moura made a solo run and fired from the edge of the box into Matheus Cunha's right corner, making it 1-0.

In stoppage time, Gabi received the ball in the box and shot powerfully, but Jandrei made a good save. Rubro-Negro went into the break trailing.

Flamengo returned for the second half, dominating the entire attacking field, exchanging passes in São Paulo's half. In the 15th minute, Gerson made an individual play and passed to Allan, who fired a low shot wide.

The red-and-black team continued to attack, but struggled to create chances, even finding the final pass to find a teammate who could finish. In the 35th minute, Luiz Araújo took a free kick into the box, and Bruno Henrique narrowly avoided touching the ball.

The next minute, Pedro made a good play and passed to Everton Ribeiro, who passed to Luiz Araújo. He cut to the left and shot wide. The ball went just wide of the post.

In stoppage time, Luiz Araújo was brought down in the box by Michel Araújo. The referee awarded a penalty. Pedro stepped up to take the kick and fired a powerful shot into Jandrei's left corner to level the score at 1-1. Flamengo pushed hard for a second goal until the end, but the match ended in a draw at the Maracanã.

Next appointment
Rubro-Negro returns to the field on Wednesday (16) to face Grêmio, at 21:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the second leg of the Copa do Brasil semifinals.

Flamengo
Matheus Cunha; Wesley, Fabrício Bruno, Leo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Allan, Thiago Maia (Gerson) and Arrascaeta (Everton Ribeiro); Victor Hugo (Luiz Araújo), Bruno Henrique and Gabi (Pedro).
Coach: Jorge Sampaoli.

São Paulo
Jandrei; Nathan Mendes, Diego Costa, Alan Franco and Welington (Raí Ramos); Gabriel (Negrucci), Alisson (Rodrigo Nestor) and Michel Araújo; Lucas Moura (Wellington Rato), Juan and Alexandre Pato (James Rodríguez).
Coach: Dorival Junior.

Technical sheet
Flamengo 1x1 São Paulo – 19th Round of the Brazilian Championship
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 13/08/2023 at 18:30 pm
Arbitration: Rafael Rodrigo Klein (RS), Guilherme Dias Camilo (MG) and Michael Stanislau (MG)
Yellow cards: Wesley (FLA), Juan (SÃO), Welington (SÃO), Jandrei (SÃO), Rodrigo Nestor (SÃO), Alan Franco (SÃO), Gerson (FLA) and Wellington Rato (SÃO)
Goals: Lucas Moura (37'1st half) and Pedro (50'2nd half).