Flamengo's debut in the Copa do Brasil ended in a goalless draw. The team tied 0-0 with Atlético-GO, on Wednesday night (10), at Maracanã. The red-black team dominated the actions within the four lines during the 90 minutes, even hitting the post, but failed to score.
The next commitment of Mais Querido is in the same stadium, in another debut, against another Atlético: Atlético Mineiro, for the Brazilian Championship. The ball rolls this Saturday (13), at 16pm.
The second leg against Atlético-GO in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil will be on Wednesday, May 24th, in Goiânia.
The game
Flamengo started the match with total dominance, reaching 82% possession in the first 15 minutes. Their two best chances came from shots just outside the penalty area, by Matheus Savio and Gabriel, but both times the ball went high – in the case of the number 17, the ball grazed the crossbar. Atlético-GO created few dangerous opportunities, mostly from corner kicks. Before the end of the first half, Paquetá headed powerfully with his back to goal, forcing the Atlético goalkeeper to make a miraculous save.
In the second half, Flamengo continued to rely on ball possession and infiltrations down the flanks. The team returned to the field with Pará replacing Gabriel – thus, Renê remained at left-back and Rodinei was moved to midfield. And it was he who produced the first "uh!" of the second half: Rafael Vaz shielded the ball well, dribbled, and under pressure, managed to pass to Damião, who only grazed the ball to deliver it to Matheus Savio; the youngster crossed for Rodinei – who has already scored twice this year and sealed the victory in the Fla-Flu derby that decided the Carioca championship – to hit the post.
At 22 minutes, the crowd erupted in joy as they watched Ederson run from the warm-up area to midfield to return to the pitch after nine months recovering from injury. At 30 minutes, Zé Ricardo made his final substitution: Felipe Vizeu replaced Leandro Damião. The team continued to dominate the offensive play and without facing any pressure defensively, but failed to score until the final whistle.