In the fifth round of the Carioca, Flamengo beat Botafogo 2-0 on Wednesday night (24), at the Nilton Santos stadium. The Rubro-Negro's goals were scored by Rodrigo Muniz and Hugo Moura. With the triumph, Mengão took the lead in the championship with four wins in five games.

The game
The derby started off quite tense in midfield, with both teams fighting for possession. In the 20th minute, Flamengo created a threat for the first time. Bruno Viana passed to Matheuzinho on the right, who crossed into the middle of the box. Rodrigo Muniz arrived with a first-time shot, but the ball went over the goal.

Then, in the 23rd minute, Mengão opened the scoring. After a Vitinho pass, the ball fell to Michael, who set up Muniz, who collided with Benevenuto and shot past the black-and-white goalkeeper: 1-0. Flamengo continued to press forward, and in the 28th minute, Michael created another good chance. The forward beat his marker and shot hard, but Douglas Borges made a good save. The first half ended with Flamengo ahead.

Early in the second half, João Gomes received the ball at the edge of the box and fired a well-placed shot. The ball hit the crossbar and went out. Vitinho then set up a back pass to João Gomes, who fired a powerful shot that was well saved by Douglas Borges.

In the 11th minute, the red-and-black team started passing the ball around. Michael passed it to Vitinho, who rolled it to Muniz, who passed it first time to João Gomes. The midfielder took a first-time shot, and the goalkeeper saved another. Kanu, the black-and-white defender, was sent off in the 20th minute.

With an extra man, the Mais Querido found space to work the ball and consistently dropped downfield to attack. In the 40th minute, Mengão extended their lead! Matheuzinho was released on the right, burst into the box, and rolled the ball back. The ball deflected and found Hugo Moura at the edge of the box, who unleashed a rocket into the back of the net, sealing the red-and-black victory in the derby: 2-0.  

Next appointment
The Most Beloved returns to the field next Saturday (27) to face Boavista, at 21:05 pm, at the Elcyr Resende stadium, in Bacaxá.

Flamengo lineup
Hugo; Matheuzinho (João Lucas), Bruno Viana, Léo Pereira and Renê; Hugo Moura, João Gomes (Richard) and Pepê (Thiaguinho); Vitinho (Max), Michael and Pedro (Rodrigo Muniz).
Coach: Mauricio Souza.