The points Flamengo and Palmeiras did not earn here may make a difference towards late 2024 re: who wins the Campeonato Brasileiro or at the least, makes it to the 2025 Libertadores group stage directly. However, there won't be a second chance to get 3 points at Barcelona and Independiente del Valle as visitors in Libertadores play. Tite and Abel may well have had their minds on this week's cup matches, all the more as neither team has won 2 out of 2 in Libertadores play.
After the midweek loss at Bolivar the media is labeling Flamengo x Botafogo as a pressure game for Flamengo. That's a bit over the top... but thats how it goes in Brazil.
Well this is a new one .... Gremio losing to Bahia 1 x 0 and in the 93rd min Diego Costa gets a red card on the bench. Renato Gaucho loses his mind and orders the whole bench players and staff (except for medical) to leave the field leaving his team on the field by themselves for the last 3 mins.
Botafogo with the surprise 2 x 0 win over Flamengo. They are now top of the league .... Corinthians spanking Fluminense 3 x 0 early in the 2nd half.
Haven't been able to follow the games closely in the last 10 days, let alone watch them due to, well, life, but my impression of Flamengo today is very much the mundane Tite, where subs don't really change how the team looks or attacks and no creativity breaks through on the day to break the deadlock. Sometimes that means 0x0, today it meant we gave up a goal on a "jogada ensaiada" and on a late giveaway.
Ronaldo is selling his majority part of Cruzeiro to the owner of Supermercados BH. Haven't followed what's going on there but he hasn't bee too happy with the way fans have been criticizing him.
I think the Botafogo loss was disappointing because Flamengo didn't create much. Tite probably went overboard talking about the artificial grass in the game vs Palmeiras and the altitude game. You can't change the altitude nor the Allianz grass ... but I think he was spot on criticizing the time (around Noon) the game was played on given the high temperature. Many don't like to hear it and see it as an excuse, but it definitely affects game intensity. I think it works against Tite that his personality doesn't match the club much. I can imagine "Tite speak" really irritating most Flamengo fans.
Palmeiras x São Paulo game yesterday wasn't a bad game, but the scoreline disappointed. Lazaro missed and incredible chance in the 2nd half but São Paulo had quite a few good counters where they could have scored. Palmeiras has only 1 goal in 4 matches so far. Gabigol has been cleared to rejoin training and play.
SPFC has now gone four matches unbeaten since Zubeldía arrived, and that includes a 0-0 draw vs. Palmeiras. SPFC is now 8th in the Campeonato Brasileiro and the moment is positive as the team heads to Chile to face Cobresal in Libertadores action on Wedneseday. Palmeiras with a suada but well-earned victory, 0-2, at Cuiabá. Estêvão shone again. Corinthians drew Fortaleza 0-0 at home, but both teams had good chances. Corinthians is a middle-of-the-table team, but it's definitely shown more vontade in recent matches. They'll need everything they have when they next play in the Campeonato Brasileiro, as they will visit Flamengo on May 11. The Rubro-Negro Carioca salvaged a 1-1 tie at Red Bull Bragantino late in the second half after the local team scored at the 30th minute. Flamengo was deployed with four defensive midfielders and with Bruno Henrique and Pedro in front, but the system didn't work well. Tite sent in Luiz Araújo before halftime. Flamengo is in 7th place, but there have only been 5 matches played and the distance between 7th and 1st place is a mere 3 points. Flamengo fans complaining about Tite would probably be best off being a bit patient. In a duel of Libertadores contenders, Atl-MG and Fluminense drew 2-2.
From what I've seen so far, no team has looked great so far. Atletico-MG probably the best so far. Athletico who are leading the table looks like the had some easy schedule to start the campaign. Tite is definitely struggling. I expected him to be doing better to be honest.
Not dismissing the tragedy going on in RS with the flooding all over the state, but from a football perspective, something will have to be done for Inter, Gremio, and Juventude to play their games. It looks like their stadiums won't be available for a good while. Gremio's arena was flooded including the pitch. Inter's stadium and CT are also under water. They will need to stay and play elsewhere. The airport in Porto Alegre is also closed till the end of the month I think.
There will certainly be logistical issues flying those teams to other stadiums, even if they're in parts of the state without flooding. A massive problem in many ways and it's going to take some time for those three teams' day-to-day operations to come back to normal, not the least because as you said, the Porto Alegre airport is out of commission until late May.
Just seeing this. I'll be honest, I left Brazil really young. I wouldn't say I have a team but I am partial to the Sao Paulo clubs because thats where I was born . I just like to follow the league. At one point, I followed Santos religiously as a teen because of Neymar
Anteontem, São Paulo with a 2-1 victory over Fluminense. And it was a virada. Now, São Paulo is in 5th place, and with five matches since Luis Zubeldía took over, the team is definitely living a good moment - and it comes at the right time within a competitive context given the strength of other teams in Brazil. Fluminense however better shore up its defense as it's not done well there in this Campeonato Brasileiro. Thiago Silva's arrival will hopefully help them there. São Paulo will have very tough competition to win a major title this year, but I'm beginning to think it's not out of the question to see the team lift a trophy. I still think the Libertadores' strongest contenders from Brazil do not include SPFC, but time will tell. The Campeonato Brasileiro? That would be amazing, as would be Copa do Brasil. But one match at a time.
We on the other hand had another disappointing result at home vs Athletico. That makes it 3 home games with 2 points and no goals scored. Abel stubbornly went back to rony as a stater. Flaco, for all his good form, got rewarded with the bench. Now rony is going head to head with the fans who are calling this out.
São Paulo extends its unbeaten streak to 11 with a 2-0 victory over Cruzeiro last night. Cruzeiro lost one man to a red card after SPFC was up 1-0 thanks to a Lucas shot and Calleri with a header made it 2-0. Flamengo was down 0-1 to Vasco early in the first half only to be up 3-1 before Vasco lost a man to a red card. Flamengo ended the match with a 6-1 victory and ended the round with first place in the league table of the Campeonato Brasileiro. Criciúma hosted Palmeiras, and Abel's men struggled and suffered but earned a 1-2 win. For Flamengo, this timing is interesting because it ended as runner-up in its Libertadores group, and while Vasco was down to 10 men for the second half and isn't the strongest team, Flamengo nonetheless put up a show. I don't think there's any team in the group winners' side who actually wants Flamengo as an opponent. Palmeiras has been lackluster, but the team can still do damage. SPFC is on an upward curve. However, there's the two-month break due to the upcoming Copa América. Players will rest, and some teams will bring in reinforcements - this includes non-Brazilian teams. This will affect both Campeonato Brasileiro and Libertadores (and Copa do Brasil) outcomes.
After the postponement due to the floods I expected lots of matches this week but forgot that the Brasileirao stops for data FIFA now (even if it doesn't stop for Copa America later). There will be some make-up games, but because Gremio and Inter also have Libertadores/Sula to make-up they'll play those this week. The make-up matches will be for Cricuma, Juventude and some other matches. The next round will be the day after the Brazil x USA friendly. I was traveling yesterday so I couldn't watch the Flamengo match, but it was 4x1 before I boarded the plane, so that was nice.
Yep, Palmeiras performance was bad again. Goals from a lucky PK and then a corner at the end. 5 goals in 7 games. But if Abel is questioned he will bring up old or Libertadores stats. Only thing keeping the team afloat is we are not conceding much either.
Brasileirão is back. Corinthians cough up a 2 goal lead to draw vs Atletico-GO. May the crisis continue. Botafogo beating Flu right now with 15 mins to go continuing their recovery from last season's collapse.
Is it a recovery from last season's collapse or just more of the same? We'll find out in the segundo turno! Fluminense can't wait for Thiago Silva to be available.
Diniz admitted Fluminense hasn't played well and took responsibility. As you wrote, Thiago Silva is needed, and if he plays well, Fluminense should recover somewhat. If Fluminense wants to defend its 2023 crown by actually reaching the final, it'll need to improve considerably. For this, the two-month break until the Libertadores round of 16 is a gift. But in the Campeonato Brasileiro, they will have no such break. They need to get their act together fast.
Good win for Flamengo today. They gave up a late goal to make it look close, 2x1, but had it stayed 2x0 it would have been deserving as well. Flamengo's are depleted because of Copa America call-ups (especially Uruguay), and on top of that 2 players left injured in the first half, Cebolinha and Igor Jesus. Hopefully those are minor and they can play on the weekend already. But Luiz Araujo, one of the players who came on, got both goals, one was a golaço, the other a well-worked counter. And Lorran looks really good, so, maybe this Copa América period won't be so bad. Cruzeiro got a good win over Cuiaba, and the last two matches of the round are underway. (Palmeiras with an early lead on Vasco in one of those).