Victory with authority! In a game valid for the eighth round of Carioca, Flamengo had another good performance and thrashed Portuguesa 5-0 on Wednesday night (5), at Parque do Sabiá stadium, in Uberlândia (MG). Juninho, Luiz Araújo, Arrascaeta, Matheus Gonçalves and Wallace Yan scored for Mengão, who with the result, provisionally took the lead in the championship with 13 points.

It's worth noting that it was Danilo's first game as a starter, and Juninho's first goal with the Sacred Mantle. Now, the Mais Querido will have three classics in the sequence of the Guanabara Cup: Fluminense (08/02), Botafogo (12/02) and Vasco (15/02).

The game
With a team practically all reserves, Flamengo began the match trying to orchestrate plays in the attacking half, moving the ball around Portuguesa's box. The opponent, in turn, relied on counterattacks and twice threatened Matheus Cunha's goal. In the 16th minute, Luiz Araújo found a good pass to Daniel Sales, who crossed into the six-yard box for Juninho to head into the corner, but the goalkeeper stretched out and saved the goal.

With the majority of possession, Flamengo continued to pressure Portuguesa in their own half. Despite their dominance, Flamengo struggled to penetrate the Lusa box. Until the 36th minute, Mengão opened the scoring in Uberlândia. Luiz Araújo launched a pass into the box, the defense tried to clear it, and the ball fell to Arrascaeta, who unleashed a powerful shot. Douglas Borges saved with his fingertips, the ball hit the crossbar, and Juninho, well-positioned, headed the ball into the net for his first goal with the Sacred Mantle.

During the celebration, the red-and-black players paid tribute to full-back Varela, following the passing of his mother, Carmem Oliveira. The Mais Querido still had a chance to extend the lead before the end of the first half. Luiz Araújo received the ball at the edge of the box and shot into the corner. The goalkeeper made another excellent save, palming the ball out for a corner. Filipe Luís's team went into the break dominating the action and with a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Portuguesa pushed forward more in search of an equalizer. But it was Mengão who extended their lead in the 11th minute. Allan delivered a beautiful pass into the box to Ayrton Lucas, who headed the ball into the corner, but the goalkeeper made a good save. Luiz Araújo tapped in the rebound to make it 2-0.

A minute later, the Rubro-Negro team was awarded a penalty. Daniel Sales was brought down in the box by Elicley, and the referee signaled the foul. Arrascaeta stepped up to take the penalty and chipped it in, scoring the third goal for the Rubro-Negro team of the match. This was the Uruguayan's 74th goal for the Red-Black team.

Even with a comfortable lead, Mengão didn't let up and scored their fourth goal in the 24th minute. Matheus Gonçalves made a beautiful play on the right side of the box and passed to Daniel Sales. The ball escaped the fullback and landed at the feet of Arrascaeta, who delivered a beautiful pass for Matheus to tap past the goalkeeper: 4-0.

In the final minutes, the red-and-black team calmly passed the ball around. Until the 41st minute, Wallace Yan scored the fifth goal for the team from Gávea! Guilherme provided a good pass to the number 64, who entered the box and tapped the ball past the goalkeeper to seal the 5-0 victory. With the result, Mengão provisionally took the lead in the Carioca Championship.

Week's agenda
Mengão returns to the field next Saturday (8) for the classic against Fluminense, at 16:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the ninth round of the Campeonato Carioca.

Flamengo
Matheus Cunha; Daniel Sales, Danilo, Cleiton and Ayrton Lucas; Evertton Araújo (Shola), Allan and Arrascaeta (Pablo Lucio); Luiz Araújo (Wallace Yan), Everton Cebolinha (Matheus Gonçalves) and Juninho (Guilherme Gomes).
Coach: Filipe Luís.

Portuguesa
Douglas Borges; Lucas Mota, Victor Pereira, Thomás Kayck and Marcus Vinícius; Henrique Rocha, João Paulo (Joãozinho), Elicley (Alison Matheus) and Willian (Hugo Iglesias); Romarinho (Clayton) and Hélio Paraíba (Joazi).
Coach: Douglas Ferreira.

Technical sheet
Portuguesa 0x5 Flamengo – 8th Round of the Carioca Championship
Location: Sabiá Park Stadium, Uberlândia (MG)
Date and time: 05/02/2025 at 19:XNUMX am
Arbitration: Pierry Dias dos Santos, Julio Cesar Souza Gaudêncio and Juan Motta Cidri
Yellow cards: Evertton Araújo (FLA), Elicley (POR), Henrique Rocha (POR) and Cleiton (FLA)
Goals: Juninho (36'1st half), Luiz Araújo (11'2nd half), Arrascaeta (pen / 14'2nd half), Matheus Gonçalves (24'2nd half) and Wallace Yan (41'2nd half).