Flamengo pressed until the end, but ended in a draw against São Paulo at the Maracanã.
Flamengo dominated the final stretch and had a goal disallowed by VAR in stoppage time after opening the scoring with Léo Pereira.
By Romulo Paranhos - inIn their return to the Maracanã, Flamengo fought until the last moment, but drew 1-1 with São Paulo this Sunday (26), for the 20th round of the Brazilian Championship. Léo Pereira put the Mais Querido ahead at the beginning of the second half, but Calleri equalized for the visitors. In stoppage time, Samuel Lino even scored the winning goal for Flamengo. However, after VAR review, the play was invalidated due to an offside in the build-up. With the result, Flamengo reached 38 points in the national competition.
The game
The match began with São Paulo having more possession in the attacking half. Gradually, Flamengo balanced the game, began to exchange passes with more quality, and started to get into the attack. The first big opportunity came in the 18th minute, when Samuel Lino found Erick Pulgar, who hit the crossbar.
The São Paulo team responded shortly after and even managed to put the ball in the net through Marcos Antônio, but the referee ruled it offside and disallowed the goal. In the 33rd minute, Samuel Lino advanced through the middle and played a through ball to Lorran. The midfielder tried to finish first-time, but couldn't connect cleanly with the ball. In a first half with few clear opportunities, the teams went into halftime with the score at 0-0.
Flamengo returned stronger for the second half and opened the scoring in the first few minutes. Lorran took a corner, Jorginho flicked it on at the near post, and Léo Pereira appeared in the six-yard box to subtly finish into the back of the net: 1-0.
Even before the goal, goalkeeper Rafael had already prevented Flamengo from taking the lead with a great save from a header in the corner. At 22 minutes, the attack of the "Mais Querido" (Most Beloved) team threatened again. Arrascaeta exchanged passes with Pedro and shot from outside the area, forcing Rafael to make another good intervention.
However, São Paulo then equalized. Calleri rose highest inside the area and headed the ball past Rossi: 1-1.
In the final stretch, Flamengo pressed for the win. In stoppage time, Samuel Lino even scored a second goal for the red-and-black team, but VAR identified an offside by Wallace Yan at the start of the play. Flamengo persisted until the final whistle, but the draw ultimately prevailed at the Maracanã.
Flamengo
São Paulo
Week's agenda
The Most Beloved returns to the field next Wednesday (29), when it faces Internacional, at 19:30 pm, at Beira-Rio, for the 21st round of the Brazilian Championship.
Technical sheet