Flamengo drew 1-1 with Ceará on Sunday morning (4), at Maracanã, in the 25th round of the Brazilian Championship. With the result, the team went to 44 points in the table and remains in second place.

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The match was marked by the debut of Guillermo Varela, the first time of Erick Pulgar among the starters and the 200th game and 100th goal of Gabi defending the Manto Sagrado - at 26 years and 5 days, he became the youngest player to reach 100 goals in the Brasileirão.

Also in this game, which received more than 65 thousand attendees, the Maracanã crowd surpassed the 2 million mark this year. 

The game

The match started off fiercely, with Flamengo looking to maximize possession, but with no clear-cut chances for either team. This continued until the 24th minute, when Gabi crossed, Diego deflected the ball, but it bounced off the defense and went out for a corner. A minute later, Everton Cebolinha tried his luck from distance on the left wing, but the opposing defense cleared it again. In the 31st minute, Gabigol had another chance, sending a low cross-shot past João Ricardo after receiving a good through ball from Cebolinha between two Ceará defenders.

With two minutes remaining in the first half, the number 19 had another opportunity to open the scoring with a rocket from outside the box, but the ball deflected off the opposing defense; on the counterattack, Ceará ended up scoring the first goal of the match, with Jô. Before the whistle signaled halftime, Flamengo had a free kick from the edge of the box; Marinho lifted it into the box and Victor Hugo deflected it wide.

Flamengo returned for the second half with four changes straight from the locker room: Everton Ribeiro, Pedro, Matheuzinho, and Vidal replaced Diego, Marinho, Varela, and Victor Hugo. The changes paid off, and the equalizer came just seven minutes in: Cebolinha lifted the ball into the box from a corner kick; Richard deflected it into his own net and ended up serving Gabigol, who only finished to find the net: 1-1. From then on, Flamengo began to threaten Ceará's goal with further attempts by Gabriel and Everton. With the clock ticking down to 16 minutes, Flamengo gained the numerical advantage: the referee sent off opposing striker Jô for protesting.

The following minutes saw more offensive pressure from the red-and-blacks. Pedro took a chance from the edge of the penalty area in the 24th minute and nearly scored a stunning goal into the top corner, were it not for a superb save from the Ceará goalkeeper. In the 43rd minute, it was the crossbar that prevented a stunning goal from outside the box by Cebolinha. In stoppage time, the referee sent off Gabigol in a game marred by numerous foul calls. In the final moments before the final whistle, Vidal and Matheus França still had good chances with long-range shots.

Teacher's Word

"We have to commend the Ceará team, which was very competent in what it set out to do. We had good scoring opportunities, but they didn't happen, but that doesn't mean we're going to throw away everything we're working on. I'm convinced of what's being planned and that things will happen at the right time. We had a great flow in the second half, which we didn't have in the first half. Chances came and were created, but perhaps we weren't as lucky as we were at other times. Ceará's goalkeeper was in excellent form," said coach Dorival Júnior.

Next appointment

Flamengo returns to the field next Wednesday (7), for the second leg of the CONMEBOL Libertadores semifinals, at 21:30 pm, against Vélez Sarsfield, at Maracanã. 

Flamengo lineup

Santos; Varela (Matheuzinho), David Luiz, Leo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick (Matheus França), Diego Ribas (Everton Ribeiro), Victor Hugo (Vidal) and Marinho (Pedro); Gabi and Everton Cebolinha.

Coach: Dorival Junior

Ceara lineup

João Ricardo; Nino Paraíba, Messias (Lucas Ribeiro), Bruno Pacheco and Richardson (Fernando); Mendoza, Gabriel Lacerda, Richard and Vina (Zé Roberto); Lima (Vásquez) and Jô.

Coach: Lucho Gonzalez

Technical sheet

Flamengo 1x1 Ceará - 25th round - Brazilian Championship

Location: Mario Filho Stadium, Maracanã - Rio de Janeiro

Date and time: 04/09/2022, at 11:XNUMX am

Arbitration: Paulo César Zanovelli, Guilherme Dias Camilo, Felipe Alan Costa de Oliveira and Grazianni Maciel Rocha

Goals: Jô (43' - 1st half), Gabi (7' - 2nd half)

Yellow cards: Gabriel Lacerda (CEA), Gabigol (FLA), Nino Paraíba (CEA), Richard (CEA), Ayrton Lucas (FLA), Pedro (FLA), Vina (CEA), João Ricardo (CEA), Zé Roberto (CEA), Vásquez (CEA)

Red cards: Jô (CEA), Gabi (FLA)