Last-minute victory! In the classic valid for the seventh round of the Campeonato Carioca, Flamengo beat Botafogo, 1-0, on Wednesday night (7), at Maracanã. Léo Pereira scored the winning goal for the red-black team in stoppage time of the second half. With the result, Mengão took over second place in the competition with 12 points.

The game
The derby began with Flamengo dominating possession in their attacking half. When Botafogo regained possession, the red-and-black team pressed forward to try to win it back. In the seventh minute, Pedro got the ball and took a shot from the edge of the box, but Gatito made the save.

In the 15th minute, in the black and white team's first good run, Rossi made a great save from Tiquinho's shot into the corner. Despite keeping more possession of the ball, the Mais Querido struggled with the final pass. In a lackluster first half, the teams went into the break with the score tied at zero.

Coach Tite returned with only one change for the second half. Varela was replaced by Wesley. Creativity was lacking, but there was no lack of commitment on the field! The two teams were intensely battling for possession. In the 16th minute, Gerson passed to Luiz Araújo on the right, who cut inside and fired a shot. Gatito palmed it away.

In the final stretch, the Nação pushed, and the red-and-black team pushed forward to try to score the winning goal. Until stoppage time, Mengão finally found the net! In a well-rehearsed corner kick, Arrascaeta passed the ball short to Ayrton Lucas, who crossed into the box. Gatito was out of position, and Léo Pereira headed the ball free to score the winning goal for the red-and-black team, 1-0.

Next appointment
Rubro-Negro returns to the field next Saturday (10) to face Volta Redonda, at 16 pm, at Maracanã, in a delayed game of the third round of Carioca.

Flamengo
Rossi; Varela (Wesley), Fabricio Bruno, Leo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick Pulgar, Gerson, De La Cruz (Luiz Araújo) and Arrascaeta; Everton Cebolinha (Bruno Henrique) and Pedro (Gabi).
Coach: Tite.

Botafogo
Gatito Fernández; Mateo Ponte, Lucas Halter, Alexander Barboza (Bastos) and Hugo; Danilo Barbosa (Eduardo), Marlon Freitas (Victor Sá) and Tchê Tchê; Luiz Henrique (Newton), Junior Santos and Tiquinho Soares (Savarino).
Coach: Tiago Nunes.

Technical sheet
Flamengo 1x0 Botafogo – 7th Round of the Carioca Championship
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 07/02/2024 at 21:30 pm
Arbitration: Yuri Elino Ferreira, Rodrigo Figueiredo Corrêa and Daniel de Oliveira Pereira
Yellow cards: Junior Santos (BOT), Everton Cebolinha (FLA), Lucas Halter (BOT), Alexander Barboza (BOT) and Erick Pulgar (FLA)
Goal: Léo Pereira (50'2nd half).