A hard-fought victory in injury time! In the debut of the 2024 Brasileirão, Flamengo fought until the end and beat Atlético-GO, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon (14), at Serra Dourada, earning their first three points in the national competition. De La Cruz, with a great goal from a free kick, and Pedro, from a penalty, scored for Mengão.

Now, Mais Querido will face São Paulo, next Wednesday (17), at Maracanã.

The game
The opening moments of the match were marked by intense competition for possession. Flamengo's first shot on goal came in the seventh minute, when Cebolinha cut inside and took a shot. The ball sailed over the goal. Around the 13th minute, Atlético-GO coach Jair Ventura was sent off for complaining.

To try to reach the opponent's box, the Rio de Janeiro Red-Blacks sought long balls, while the home side waited in their own half to bet on counterattacks. In the final stretch, Flamengo increased their production and began to threaten Atlético's goal more. As the last man, defender Alix Vinicius received a red card for a foul on Pedro, leaving the Goiânia team with one less player.

Next, Mengão managed to open the scoring with a stunning goal! De La Cruz took a free kick into the corner and scored his first goal with the Sacred Mantle: 1-0. With that, the red-and-black team went into halftime with the advantage.

With an extra man, Flamengo returned for the second half valuing possession in an attempt to extend their lead. In the 14th minute, the red-and-black team created a threat. Arrascaeta took a corner kick to the near post, and Léo Pereira headed it over the bar. Atlético-GO then leveled the score with Luiz Fernando's goal: 1-1.

The home side pushed forward, and in the 22nd minute, they were awarded a penalty. Léo Pereira collided with Luiz Felipe in the box, and the referee signaled the penalty. Shaylon stepped up to take the shot, but the ball hit the post. During the second half, Gerson replaced Viña and returned to the team after recovering from surgery. Newly signed forward Carlinhos also came on and made his debut.

In the final minute of regulation time, Ayrton Lucas took a shot from outside the box, but the ball hit the crossbar. In stoppage time, Mengão was awarded a penalty. After consulting VAR, the referee ruled that Maguinho had collided with Bruno Henrique. Top scorer Pedro stepped up to take the penalty and scored the second goal, sealing the away victory for the red-and-blacks: 2-1.

Week's agenda
Rubro-Negro returns to the field next Wednesday (17) to face São Paulo, at 21:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the second round of the Brasileirão.

Flamengo
Rossi; Ayrton Lucas, Fabricio Bruno, Leo Pereira (Carlinhos) and Viña (Gerson); Erick Pulgar, De La Cruz (Lorran) and Arrascaeta; Luiz Araújo (Victor Hugo), Everton Cebolinha (Bruno Henrique) and Pedro.
Coach: Tite.

Athletic-GO
Ronaldo; Maguinho, Adriano Martins (Pedro Henrique), Alix Vinicius and Guilherme Romão; Gabriel Baralhas; Rhaldney (Yony González), Alejo Cruz (Luiz Felipe) and Shaylon; Luiz Fernando (Max) and Emiliano Rodriguez (Derek).
Coach: Jair Ventura.

Technical sheet
Atlético-GO 1x2 Flamengo – 1st Round of the Brazilian Championship
Location: Serra Dourada Stadium-GO
Date and time: 14/04/2024 at 16:XNUMX PM
Refereeing: André Luiz Skettino Policarpo Bento (MG), Felipe Alan Costa de Oliveira (MG) and Leonardo Henrique Pereira (MG)
Yellow cards: Rhaldney (ACG), Alejo Cruz (ACG), Fabrício Bruno (FLA), Adriano Martins (ACG), Léo Pereira (FLA) and Arrascaeta (FLA)
Red card: Jair Ventura (ACG), Alix Vinicius (ACG), Maguinho (ACG)
Goals: De La Cruz (47'1st half), Luiz Fernando (17'2nd half) and Pedro (56'2nd half).