Flamengo took the lead in the Carioca Championship semi-final. On Sunday night (22), at Maracanã, Rubro-Negro beat Madureira 3-0 in the first leg and opened up a good advantage for the decisive match. De La Cruz opened the scoring in the second half, Arrascaeta scored his hundredth goal for the club and Luiz Araújo closed the account.

Dominant from start to finish, Filipe Luís' team controlled possession, pressed high up the pitch and once again kept a clean sheet after eight consecutive matches where they had conceded. The decision for the spot will take place next Monday (02/03), at 21pm.

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The game

Flamengo started the match maintaining possession in the attacking half and calmly exchanging passes. Just three minutes in, the Rubro-Negro attacked down the right flank with Emerson Royal. After a beautiful finish by Vitão and a pass to Carrascal, the Colombian exchanged passes with Plata and unleashed a powerful shot, but goalkeeper Neguete made the save.

At 8 minutes, Madureira managed to string passes together for the first time, but the play ended with a yellow card for Cauã Coutinho after a foul on Carrascal. The midfielder himself took the free kick, but sent it into the goalkeeper's hands. At 13', Plata made a good play on the right, the defense cleared poorly and Pedro shot hard from the edge of the area, forcing a great save from Neguete.

 

Flamengo continued to press. Up until the water break at the 25-minute mark, they had 4 shots on goal.
 

At 28', De La Cruz crossed for Royal to attempt a bicycle kick, which went over the bar, and at 36', Carrascal tried a shot from outside the box, but it went wide. After two minutes of added time, the first half ended goalless, but with Flamengo dominating: 66% possession, 11 shots, 4 corners and 9 tackles.
 

After the break, Filipe Luís made changes looking to give the team even more creativity and intensity. Arrascaeta came on for Carrascal and Samuel Lino replaced Everton Cebolinha.

 

Right from the first play, Flamengo recovered the ball in attack and Pedro passed to Plata, but the pass was too strong. Two minutes later, Lino went to the byline and crossed to Plata, who headed over the crossbar.

The goal came in the 7th minute. After recovering possession in attack and a scramble in the box, the ball fell to Nico De La Cruz at the edge of the area. The Uruguayan unleashed a powerful shot into the corner, giving the opposing goalkeeper no chance: 1-0. This was the midfielder's fourth goal for Flamengo.

 

Flamengo maintained the pace. Pedro forced Neguete into a great save on a counter-attack, and Ayrton Lucas almost scored on the rebound. In response, Everton tried his luck for Madureira, but Andrew prevented the equalizer.

 

At the 12-minute mark, De La Cruz left the field to be replaced by Lucas Paquetá, reinforcing the attacking midfield.

 

Shortly after, Samuel Lino fell in the penalty area following contact with Isaías. After consulting VAR, the referee awarded a penalty to Flamengo. Arrascaeta took the penalty, shooting to Neguete's right and scoring his 100th goal in the Flamengo jersey. The Uruguayan also reached his 56th goal at the Maracanã and became the fourth Flamengo player this century to reach the milestone of 100 goals, alongside Gabriel, Pedro, and Bruno Henrique.

 

With the lead extended, Flamengo continued to press for more. In the 40th minute, Paquetá recovered the ball in midfield, initiated a counter-attack and passed to Arrascaeta, who then assisted Samuel Lino on the left. The striker found Luiz Araújo unmarked in the box to score the third goal: 3-0.

 

In the final minutes, Flamengo still created chances to extend their lead, but Madureira's defense prevented an even bigger score. After 3 minutes of added time, the referee ended the match with a Flamengo victory and clear superiority in the statistics: 66% possession, 27 shots, 10 corners and 14 tackles.

Flamengo

 

Andrew; Ayrton Lucas, Danilo, Vitão and Everson Royal; Everton Araújo and De La Cruz (Lucas Paquetá); Everton Cebolinha (Samuel Lino), Jorge Carrascal (De Arrascaeta) and Gonzalo Plata (Luiz Araújo); Pedro.

Coach: Filipe Luís.

 

Madureira RJ

 

Neguete; Cauã Coutinho, Marcão, Jean Vianna de Matos and Matheus Julião (Júlio César); Fubá and Rodrigo Lindoso; Everton (Isaías), Juninho (Adriano) and Jacó (Vinícius Balotelli); Geovane Diniz Silva (Filipe Claudino).

Coach: Toninho Andrade

 

Week's agenda

 

Flamengo returns to the field next Thursday (26) to face Lanús (ARG), at 21:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the second leg of the Recopa Sudamericana. 

 

Credits

 

Flamengo 3-0 Madureira RJ – Campeonato Carioca | First Leg of the Semifinal

Location: Maracanã – Rio de Janeiro

Date and time: 22/02/2026 at 20:30 am

Yellow cards: Cauã Coutinho (MAD), Jacó (MAD), Plata (FLA), Evertton Araújo (FLA) and Marcão (MAD)

Goals: De La Cruz (7'2ºT), De Arrascaeta (18'2ºT) and Luiz Araújo (40'2ºT).