In the duel between the Rio de Janeiro champion and the Minas Gerais champion, Rio de Janeiro won! On Wednesday night (11), Flamengo beat Cruzeiro 2-0 at the Maracanã, for the fifth round of the Brasileirão. Pedro and Carrascal were the authors of the red-black goals in the match that marked the reunion of Gerson with the Nation, and of Leonardo Jardim with the Minas Gerais team.

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The game

In the opening moments of the match, Cruzeiro immediately applied pressure, but Flamengo quickly asserted their dominance and opened the scoring after just four minutes. Following a corner kick, Léo Ortiz headed the ball against the crossbar, and it fell to Villarreal. The striker attempted a pass, but misplaced it, allowing Pedro to intercept. The number 9 then beat his marker and slotted the ball into the right corner past Cássio to put Flamengo ahead: 1-0. It was the striker's 100th goal at the Maracanã wearing the sacred Flamengo jersey.

In the next minute, right after Cruzeiro kicked off, Pedro made a sliding tackle, Arrascaeta entered the area at speed, dribbled past Cássio and shot towards goal. Fabrício Bruno made the clearance almost on the goal line to prevent Flamengo's second goal.

Throughout the game, Cruzeiro tried to attack by exchanging passes, but Flamengo's defensive system was well-organized and kept the danger away. At 30 minutes, the referee initially showed a red card to Matheus Henrique for handling the ball in a challenge with Cebolinha on the left side of the field. However, after a VAR review, Flavio Rodrigues overturned the expulsion. 

In the final stretch of the first half, Flamengo launched a counter-attack with Arrascaeta, who feinted past two defenders and passed to Cebolinha on the left. Cebolinha attempted a shot, but it was blocked by the defense. Paquetá pounced on the rebound, attempting a bicycle kick from the edge of the box, and the ball went just wide of the post. Flamengo went into halftime with a narrow lead. 

The beloved team returned for the second half without any changes. In their first good breakaway in the sixth minute, Arrascaeta received a great pass from Paquetá, entered the area on the right and unleashed a powerful shot. Cássio parried the ball, which hit the post before going out for a corner. In the next play, Arrascaeta took a corner kick into the area, the Cruzeiro defense cleared it, and Pulgar hit a beautiful first-time shot into the corner. Cássio, once again, saved the Minas Gerais team. 

Coach Leonardo Jardim made a change to the team around the 20-minute mark. Samuel Lino came on for Cebolinha. Time passed and Flamengo continued to dominate the game, looking for vertical plays in the attacking third. Shortly before the water break, Varela and Carrascal came on for Royal and Paquetá, respectively. 

In the 38th minute, Pedro received the ball at the edge of the area and took a shot. The ball deflected on its way and Matheus Cunha made the save. The former Flamengo goalkeeper came on to replace Cássio, who left injured. 

In the final minutes, when Cruzeiro began to press harder in attack in search of an equalizer, Flamengo was lethal and sealed the victory in the last minute of added time with Carrascal. Samuel Lino recovered the ball in midfield and delivered a great pass to the Colombian, who was running at speed. When he reached the area, he delicately chipped the ball over the goalkeeper, securing a 2-0 victory to the delight of the Flamengo fans. With this result, the "Mais Querido" (Most Beloved) temporarily entered the top four of the Brazilian Championship.

Flamengo

Rossi; Emerson Royal (Varela), Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira and Alex Sandro; Erick Pulgar, Jorginho and Arrascaeta (Luiz Araújo); Lucas Paquetá (Carrascal), Everton Cebolinha (Samuel Lino) and Pedro (Wallace Yan).
Coach: Leonardo Jardim.

Cruzeiro

Cássio (Matheus Cunha); Fagner (Arroyo), Fabrício Bruno, Villalba and Kaiki Bruno; Matheus Henrique, Lucas Silva (Japa), Christian, Gerson (Wanderson) and Matheus Pereira; Villarreal (Chico da Costa).
Coach: Tite. 

Week's agenda

Mengão returns to the field next Saturday (14) to play the classic against Botafogo, at 20:30 pm, at Nilton Santos, for the sixth round of the Brazilian Championship. 

Technical sheet

Flamengo 2x0 Cruzeiro – Brazilian Championship | 5th Round
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 11/03/2026 at 21:30 am
Referees: Flavio Rodrigues de Souza (SP), Alex Ang Ribeiro (SP) and Luiz Alberto Andrini Nogueira (SP)
Yellow cards: Léo Pereira (FLA), Fagner (CRU), Erick Pulgar (FLA) and Fabrício Bruno (FLA)
Goals: Pedro (4'1st half) and Carrascal (53'2nd half).