On Wednesday night (12), Filipe Luís' Flamengo won another one. With 39 fans present at Maraca, Mengão played well and beat Fluminense 2-1 in the first leg of the Carioca final. Wesley, recently called up to the Brazilian National Team, and Juninho, who recently returned from injury, scored for the Mais Querido. Keno pulled one back at the end for the rival. Now, the two teams face each other next Sunday (16) at 16 pm, to decide the 2025 state champion. Flamengo plays for a draw.

Game

Mengão started the match in the best possible way. Wesley, a youngster currently enjoying a spectacular run of form, took a shot from outside the box, the ball bounced past goalkeeper Fábio: 1-0 Flamengo. The match continued with Flamengo holding their own, holding their own at the back.

In the 41st minute, another great chance for the red-and-blacks. Erick Pulgar delivered a good pass to Gerson, who attempted to cut past Otávio but missed. The ball fell to Pulgar again, who unleashed a first-time shot that put Fábio in danger.

In the next play, Arrascaeta received a ball from Luiz Araújo and shot wide. Mengão went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

At the start of the second half, Mengão was the only team. Gerson advanced down the right and found Arrascaeta, who shot with a deflection and narrowly missed extending the lead. Fábio performed a miracle.

Juninho, who had replaced Plata, doubled Mengão's lead in the second half. After a Fluminense error, Luiz Araújo passed to Gerson, who passed to Arrascaeta, but was blocked as he took the shot. The ball fell to Juninho, who took a deflected shot to score. The striker only needed ten minutes on the field to score—what a star! In the 42nd minute, Fluminense pulled one back through Keno. The match ended and the red-and-blacks won: 2-1.

Next appointment
After a great victory this Wednesday, Mengão faces Fluminense again on Sunday (16) at 16 pm, for the second leg of the Carioca final.

Flamengo
Rossi; Wesley, Leo Ortiz, Leo Pereira and Alex Sandro (Varela); Erick (Allan), De la Cruz (Evertton Araújo), Arrascaeta (Matheus Gonçalves) and Gerson; Luiz Araújo and Plata (Juninho)

Fluminense
Fabio; Guga (Samuel Xavier), Ignacio, Thiago Silva and Gabriel Fuentes; Otavio (Riquelme Felipe), Martinelli and Arias; Serna (Hercules), Cano (Everaldo) and Canobbio (Keno)

Technical sheet
Fluminense 1 x 2 Flamengo – First leg of the Carioca Championship final
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 12/03/2025 at 21:30 pm
Arbitration: Yuri Elino Ferreira da Cruz, Thiago Henrique Neto Correa Farinha and Gustavo Mota Correia
Goals: Wesley (FLA), Juninho (FLA) and Keno (FLU)
Cards: Samuel Xavier (FLU), Guga (FLU), Martinelli (FLU), Cano (FLU), Canobbio (FLU), Keno (FLU), Victor Eudes (FLU) Freytes [red card] (FLU) and assistant coach [red card] (FLU); De La Cruz (FLA)

*Under supervision of Leonardo Maior