Heading to the semifinals! In the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals, Flamengo beat Bahia 1-0 on Thursday night (12) at Maracanã, securing qualification for the next stage of the national competition. Arrascaeta, after an assist from Bruno Henrique, scored the winning goal.

Now, Mengão will face Corinthians in the semifinals. It's worth noting that "Mais Querido" is the team that has reached this stage the most times in the tournament's history, with 17 appearances. 

The game
The match began with Flamengo valuing possession, seeking to exchange passes in the attacking half. When they lost possession, the red-and-black team moved up the lines and marked Bahia's passing. The first opportunity came just six minutes in. Bruno Henrique passed to Gerson, who unleashed a powerful shot that Marcos Felipe saved.

In the 14th minute, a free kick from the right flank was taken by Arrascaeta, who crossed into the box. Léo Pereira tried to head the ball away, but the ball went out of bounds. Bahia took control of the action and put pressure on Bahia, which barely managed to get out of its own half.

The Bahia team, in turn, loosened up a bit after the 20th minute, starting to push the red-and-black area more. But Flamengo didn't let their opponents get their way and soon regained control of possession.

In the 37th minute, Bahia had its clearest chance to open the scoring. Arrascaeta took a corner kick into the box, the ball fell to Bruno Henrique, who turned and shot, but Marcos Felipe made a great save, saving Bahia. The referee added two minutes of stoppage time, and the first half ended goalless.

Flamengo came back in the second half, threatening Marcos Felipe's goal. Luiz Araujo got the ball, made a run, and made a great play. The ball fell to Gerson, who passed it back to the number 7, but was blocked by Gabriel Xavier.

Then, in the eighth minute, Mengão finally broke the deadlock at the Maraca. Léo Ortiz delivered a great pass to Bruno Henrique, who burst into the box from the left and rolled the ball into the middle. Arrascaeta only had to tap it into the net: 1-0 and a celebration for the Red-Black Nation!

After the 20th minute, Arrascaeta requested a substitution, and Gabi replaced him. Needing to turn the score around, Bahia tried to keep possession, but were thwarted by the team's strong defense, which managed to neutralize the plays.

In the 38th minute, Flamengo came out on top. Evertton Araújo, who had a good game, took a shot from outside the box, but the goalkeeper saved it in the center of the goal. In the final minutes, Flamengo controlled the result and left the field with qualification for the Copa do Brasil semifinals.

Week's agenda
Rubro-Negro returns to the field next Sunday (15) for the classic against Vasco, at 18:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the 26th round of the Brasileirão.

Flamengo
Matheus Cunha; Wesley, Fabricio Bruno, Leo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas (Varela); Leo Ortiz, Evertton Araújo (Allan) and Arrascaeta (Gabi); Gerson, Luiz Araújo (Erick Pulgar) and Bruno Henrique (Matheus Gonçalves).
Coach: Tite.

Bahia
Marcos Felipe; Santiago Arias, Gabriel Xavier, Kanu and Luciano Juba (Iago); Caio Alexandre, Jean Lucas, Everton Ribeiro (Carlos de Pena) and Cauly (Luciano Rodríguez); Thaciano (Rafael Ratão) and Everaldo (Ademir).
Coach: Rogério Ceni.

Technical sheet
Flamengo 1x0 Bahia – Second leg of the Copa do Brasil Quarterfinals
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Audience and income: 65.662 / R$ 5.713.895,00
Date and time: 12/09/2024 at 21:45 am
Referees: Braulio da Silva Machado (FIFA/SC), Guilherme Dias Camilo (FIFA/MG) and Alex Ang Ribeiro (FIFA/SP)
Yellow cards: Gabriel Xavier (BAH), Iago (BAH), Bruno Henrique (FLA)
Goal: Arrascaeta (8'2st half).