Nothing better than a thrashing to celebrate 130 years of history! In a delayed game from the 12th round of the Brasileirão, Flamengo thrashed Sport 5-1 this Saturday (15), at Arena de Pernambuco, and momentarily took the lead in the championship. After starting behind, the red-black team came back with goals from Luiz Araújo, Juninho, Bruno Henrique, Ayrton Lucas and Douglas Telles. Surely, the six young rowers are celebrating up in heaven!

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The game

With a whole team missing, Flamengo started the match taking the initiative to value possession in the attacking half. The first good chance came in the sixth minute. Samuel Lino accelerated the play down the left and passed to Bruno Henrique in the middle. The number 27 tried a shot from outside the area, but Gabriel made the save in the center of the goal. 

In Sport's first attack, Ayrton Lucas made a crucial interception on Matheusinho's shot. However, shortly after, the home team opened the scoring with Pablo, who received the ball inside the area and shot into the right corner past Rossi: 1-0. 

Trailing behind, the red-and-black team immediately launched an attack to try and equalize. In the 29th minute, Erick Pulgar crossed into the area and Samuel Lino headed over the goal. In the final stretch, Matheus Alexandre committed a hard foul on Ayrton Lucas, received his second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Sport with one less player. 

Flamengo quickly capitalized on their numerical advantage and leveled the score at 40 minutes. Luiz Araújo received the ball at the edge of the area and placed a shot into the corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance: 1-1. When play resumed, Sport had another player sent off. Ramon, who already had a yellow card, fouled Wallace Yan and also received a red card. After three minutes of added time, the referee blew the whistle for halftime. 

With two extra men on the field, Flamengo returned for the second half with Michael replacing João Victor, who had a yellow card. The game was attack versus defense, as the red-and-black team occupied the entire attacking field and pressured Sport. At 10', Ayrton Lucas feinted down the left side of the area and unleashed a powerful shot that Gabriel saved brilliantly, parrying for a corner.

Coach Filipe Luís made two more changes to the team. He brought on Cebolinha and Juninho in place of Samuel Lino and Wallace Yan, respectively. And in the duo's first play, Flamengo took the lead! Cebolinha controlled the ball on the left and shot across goal; the ball hit the post and rebounded to Juninho, who finished it into the net. The ball even touched the post before going in: 2-1. 

In the next play, Flamengo extended their lead with a goal from Bruno Henrique. Sport made a mistake in their build-up play, Cebolinha stole the ball and passed to Luiz Araújo, who then set up the number 27. He saw Gabriel out of position and chipped the ball over him to score the third goal: 3-1. 

With complete control of the game, Flamengo scored their fourth goal in the 25th minute. Ayrton Lucas took a shot, the ball deflected off Aderlan and went into the back of the net: 4-1. The fifth goal was only a matter of time! And what better way to score than with a young player from the youth academy. With his first touch of the ball, Douglas Telles took advantage of Cebolinha's cross and scored his first professional goal for Flamengo. 

In the final minutes, the Flamengo team continued their attack in search of a sixth goal to honor the six young rowers with one goal each, but the rout ended 5-1. Most importantly, with the victory, Flamengo temporarily took the lead in the Brazilian Championship and hopes for a Palmeiras loss against Santos tonight to remain at the top of the standings. 

Flamengo

Rossi; Emerson Royal, João Victor (Michael), Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick Pulgar, Saúl and Wallace Yan (Juninho); Luiz Araújo, Samuel Lino (Everton Cebolinha) and Bruno Henrique (Douglas Telles).
Coach: Filipe Luís. 

Sports

Gabriel; Matheus Alexandre, Rafael Thyere, Ramon and Luan Cândido; Rivera (Riquelme), Lucas Kal, Lucas Lima (Adriel) and Matheusinho (Aderlan); Léo Pereira (Sérgio Oliveira) and Pablo (Igor Cariús).
Coach: César Lucena. 

Week's agenda

Flamengo returns to the field next Wednesday (19) to play the classic against Fluminense, at 21:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the 34th round of Brasileirão.

Technical sheet

Sport 1-5 Flamengo – Brazilian Championship | Round 12
Location: Arena de Pernambuco, Recife-PE
Date and time: 15/11/2025 at 18:30 am
Referees: Rafael Rodrigo Klein (RS), Maira Mastella Moreira (RS) and Michael Stanislau (RS)
Yellow cards: Ramon (SPT), Erick Pulgar (FLA), Matheus Alexandre (SPT), João Victor (FLA) and Saúl (FLA)
Red cards: Matheus Alexandre (SPT), Ramon (SPT)
Goals: Pablo (14'1st half), Luiz Araújo (40'1st half), Juninho (15'2nd half), Bruno Henrique (17'2nd half), Ayrton Lucas (25'2nd half) and Douglas Telles (34'2nd half).