In a game of the 13th round of the Brasileirão, Flamengo maintained its good performance at Maracanã and beat Cruzeiro, 2-1, on Sunday night (30). Pedro, in the first half, and Fabrício Bruno, with a header, in the second half, scored for Mengão, who remains in the isolated lead with 27 points.

The game
Flamengo dominated the opening moments of the match, holding possession and trying to reach the opponent's box by passing the ball. Cruzeiro, on the other hand, struggled to break out of their own half due to the team's strong marking.

In the 11th minute, the Mais Querido (Most Beloved) threatened for the first time. Lorran made a good run through the middle and passed to Pedro, who perfectly placed the ball for Luiz Araújo. The striker caught it first time, and the ball went over the goal.

And it didn't take long for Mengão to turn their dominance into a goal in the 16th minute. Gerson advanced quickly through the middle and, at the edge of the area, passed to Pedro, who shot hard into the goalkeeper's right corner to open the proceedings at Maraca: 1-0.

With Flamengo's lead, they continued to value possession in their attacking half in search of a second. Cruzeiro, on the other hand, posed little threat to Rossi's goal. However, in one of the Celeste team's few breakaways, Matheus Pereira fired a shot from the edge of the box into the corner, leveling the score at 1-1 in the final stretch of the first half.

Just 10 seconds into the second half, Gerson capitalized on Cruzeiro's mistake in the clearance and nearly scored Flamengo's second. Six minutes in, Bruno Henrique received the ball on the left wing, cut inside, and unleashed a shot that skimmed the post.

Then, in the 20th minute, Mengão managed to find the net again! Luiz Araújo took a free kick from the left and lifted the ball into the box. Fabrício Bruno rose higher than everyone and sent it home: 2-1. It was the defender's sixth goal in 120 games wearing the Sacred Mantle.

In the final minutes, Ayrton Lucas was brought down in the box, and the referee awarded a penalty. But after consulting VAR, he reversed his decision and didn't award the penalty. With little time remaining, the red-and-black team held off Cruzeiro and left the field with their eighth victory in the Brasileirão, remaining in the lead.

Week's agenda
The Most Beloved returns to the field next Wednesday (3) to face Atlético-MG, at 21:30 pm, at Arena MRV, for the 14th round of the Brasileirão.

Flamengo
Rossi; Wesley, Fabrício Bruno, David Luiz and Ayrton Lucas; Allan, Gerson and Lorran (Léo Ortiz); Luiz Araújo, Bruno Henrique (Werton) and Pedro.
Technical:

Cruzeiro
Anderson; William, Neris (Villalba), João Marcelo and Kaiki; Romero (Robert), Lucas Silva (Vitinho) and Ramiro (Machado); Matheus Pereira, Gabriel Veron (Mateus Vital) and Arthur Gomes.
Coach: Fernando Seabra.

Technical sheet
Flamengo 2x1 Cruzeiro – 13th Round of the Brazilian Championship
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 30/06/2024 at 18:30 pm
Refereeing: Braulio da Silva Machado (FIFA/SC), Alex dos Santos (SC) and Thiaggo Americano Labes (SC)
Yellow cards: Luiz Araújo (FLA), Kaiki (CRU), João Marcelo (CRU)
Goals: Pedro (16'1st half), Matheus Pereira (37'1st half) and Fabrício Bruno (20'2nd half).