Flamengo secured another victory in the Taça Rio and moved closer to qualifying for the competition's semifinals. And on the night of the Empire of Love, Flamengo defeated Tigres 3-1, securing first place in Group A of the competition with 16 points. Adriano, twice, and Vagner Love scored the goals and are leading the league's scoring charts with 10 and 11 goals, respectively. The Artilheiro do Amor is the player who has scored the most goals in the championship.

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One of the best on the field, Léo Moura praised the victory against the team from Baixada Fluminense, which left Flamengo very close to a place in the semifinals.

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"It was an important result. We got the win, created some good plays and, unfortunately, we lost some of them. But that's part of it. We're happy," said the right-back. 

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For goalkeeper Bruno, the match had two distinct moments: the first and second half.

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"Football has to be played with passion. In the first half, we were a bit listless and didn't get very far. However, in the second, we managed to loosen up, create plays, and score goals. We showed attitude and won," said Bruno.

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Sleepy
The first half started off rather sluggishly. Neither Flamengo nor Tigres were pushing for a goal, and only after the timeout did the match pick up a bit. And while Flamengo was taking a nap, Tigres opened the scoring.

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In the 31st minute, after a cross from the right, Gilcimar stretched and, despite being flustered, slotted the ball into the red-and-black goal: 1-0. Flamengo didn't feel the impact and pushed forward to try to equalize. Six minutes later, a beautiful play by Léo Moura resulted in Adriano heading in the equalizer.

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 Change of posture
In the second half, Andrade called for more movement and speed from his team. To achieve this, he took off midfielder Petkovic and introduced Vinícius Pacheco. It paid off. Just seven minutes in, after a beautiful run by Adriano, Vagner Love received the ball in the box, dribbled past his defender, and turned the game around.

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After extending their lead, Flamengo had a slew of scoring chances. Vagner Love, who scored twice, and Léo Moura, who had another great performance, missed the most important ones. However, with the Emperor, there are no missed goals. After a beautiful play by Vinícius Pacheco, who dribbled past a defender and went at the goalkeeper alone, Adriano had only to tap in the goal in the 36th minute, following the midfielder's pass.

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Rubro-negro had another chance to extend their lead, thanks to a beautiful play by Léo Moura, but that was it: 3-1 and the lead in group A.

FLAMENGO 3 x 1 BRAZILIAN TIGERS

Location: João Havelange Olympic Stadium (Engenhão), in Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Date: March 24, 2010, Wednesday
Time: 19:30 (from Brasilia)
Audience: 1.915 paying spectators
Income: R$ 47.405,00
Referee: Djalma Beltrami (RJ)
Assistants: Rodrigo Joia (RJ) and Gilberto Pereira (RJ)
Yellow cards: David (Flamengo); Denis and Zé Carlos (Tigres)

Goals: FLAMENGO: Adriano, 37 minutes into the first half and 36 minutes into the second half; Vagner Love, 34 minutes into the second half; TIGRES: Gilcimar, XNUMX minutes into the first half

FLAMENGO: Bruno, Leonardo Moura, David, Fabrício and Juan; Maldonado, Willians (Rodrigo Alvim), Kléberson and Petkovic (Vinícius Pacheco); Vagner Love (Ramon) and Adriano
Coach: Andrade

TIGERS: Rodolpho, Edinho, Paulo Cesar, Zé Carlos and Celico (Edson Barbosa); Leão, Denis, Giovanni (Jefinho) and Daniel Silva; Clayton and Gilcimar (Bell)
Technician: Sorato