In a game played in the 14th round of the Brasileirão, Flamengo went to Belo Horizonte and beat Atlético-MG 4-2, on Wednesday night (3), at Arena MRV. Bruno Henrique (twice), Carlinhos and Ayrton Lucas scored for Mengão, who remain in the isolated lead of the competition with 30 points. Another good performance by the red-black team, which achieved its fourth victory away from home.

The game
The match began with both teams closely studying each other. Playing at home, Atlético-MG held the ball more, exchanging passes in their attacking half. Flamengo, on the other hand, pushed up their lines to make it difficult for the Minas Gerais team to get the ball out.

But Mengão quickly got into the game, and in their first effective attack, they opened the scoring in the 13th minute. In a free kick from the right, Luiz Araújo crossed into the box, Bruno Henrique got behind the marker and sent the ball into the Arena MRV net: 1-0.

And Mengão got off to a blistering start! Ten minutes later, the red-and-black team extended their lead. Luiz Araújo passed to Wesley, who beat Scarpa's speed, cut inside, and shot. The ball hit the post and fell to Carlinhos, who finished with a sliding shot into the net. It was the striker's first goal for the Sacred Mantle: 2-0.

With a more comfortable lead, Flamengo calmly controlled possession and continued to try attacking plays. In the 42nd minute, Carlinhos narrowly missed scoring his second goal. With two men up front, Flamengo was clinical, capitalizing on opportunities in attack and remaining solid in defense.

At the start of the second half, Mengão maintained their strong pace and scored the third goal just five minutes in with a stunning goal! Ayrton Lucas made a beautiful individual play, entered the box and hit a cross to extend the lead: 3-0.

Shortly after, when the ball started rolling again, the referee consulted VAR and awarded a penalty to Allan on Vargas. Hulk stepped up to take the penalty and fired a powerful shot into Rossi's right corner to make it 3-1.

Before the 20th minute, Atlético-MG had a player sent off. After a tackle on Bruno Henrique, right-back Rômulo received a second yellow card, leaving the home team ten men down.

Taking advantage of the numerical advantage, Mais Querido scored the fourth goal in the 22nd minute. Pedro, who had recently entered the match, found a beautiful pass for Bruno Henrique to invade the area and finish into the net, scoring his second goal of the game: 4-1.

With the game practically decided, coach Tite made several substitutions to rotate the team and rest some players ahead of the clash with Cuiabá. In the final stretch, Atlético-MG pulled one back again with Hulk, making it 4-2.

In the final minutes, the red-and-black team valued possession in the attacking half and waited for the referee's final whistle to leave the field with another victory, their fourth away from home. With the result, Mengão remains in sole possession of the Brasileirão with 30 points.

Week's agenda
Rubro-Negro returns to the field next Saturday (6) to face Cuiabá, at 20 pm, at Maracanã, for the 15th round of the Brasileirão.

Flamengo
Rossi; Wesley, Fabrício Bruno, David Luiz and Ayrton Lucas (Leo Pereira); Leo Ortiz (Erick Pulgar), Allan and Gerson (Lorran); Luiz Araújo (Victor Hugo), Bruno Henrique and Carlinhos (Pedro).
Coach: Tite.

Athletic-MG
Matheus Mendes; Romulo, Bruno Fuchs, Battaglia and Gustavo Scarpa; Otavio, Paulo Vitor (Mariano) and Igor Gomes (Vargas); Hulk, Cadu (Palacios) and Paulinho.
Coach: Gabriel Milito.

Technical sheet
Atlético-MG 2x4 Flamengo – 14th Round of the Brazilian Championship
Location: MRV Arena, Belo Horizonte-MG
Attendance: 39.993 fans 
Date and time: 03/07/2024 at 21:30 pm
Refereeing: Ramon Abatti Abel (FIFA/SC), Nailton Junior de Sousa Oliveira (FIFA/CE) and Henrique Neu Ribeiro (SC)
Yellow cards: Bruno Henrique (FLA), Romulo (CAM), Ayrton Lucas (FLA), Paulo Vitor (CAM) and Battaglia (CAM)
Red card: Romulo (CAM)
Goals: Bruno Henrique (13'1st half and 22'2nd half), Carlinhos (23'1st half), Ayrton Lucas (5'2nd half) and Hulk (11'2nd half and 44'2nd half).