Then he scores the opening goal 2 minutes into the second half! But Flamengo won, de virada, which is huge on a weekend when Palmeiras and Cruzeiro lost. I was so tempted to post on Yuri Alberto's cavadinha, but I didn't want to jinx it.
Putting this in the Brasileirão thread but it applies to every tournament: CBF is presenting the calendar changes for the 2026 to 2029 cycle.
Flamengo 0x0 Cruzeiro Flamengo 3 points ahead of Pameiras, who has that 1 game in hand. Quality game, but no urgency from Flamengo after going up a man late. They had 2 unused subs in the match. Cruzeiro probably very happy with the point after the red card, even if it puts them 4 points behind Flamengo and potentially 7 points behind both Flamengo and Palmeiras when they catch up on games played. This weekend, before the international break, Flamengo goes to Bahia, Palmeiras goes to São Paulo, Cruzeiro host Sport. After the international break, some huge matches coming up.
Hard fought match. Cruzeiro played well containing Flamengo. Flamengo had some dangerous plays inside the box but Cruzeiro had better shots on goal.
A couple of big games today. First is Palmeiras taking on São Paulo at the Morumbi. São Paulo has given Palmeiras trouble in the cups but in the Brasileiro we've had good results against them. São Paulo coming off a good win against Fortaleza being a man down. Then it's Flamengo at Bahia. Bahia are having a good season but they are missing 13 players either to injury or suspension. Even missing important players they beat Palmeiras last week. However, Rogerio Ceni has lost all matches against Flamengo ever since he became a manager at whatever club he has been. Not even a draw. It's a lot of matches too. Seems like Flamengo's biggest enemy today will be pitch which is complete garbage. Flamengo will be missing Saul who hasn't made the trip. Cruzeiro has the easiest matchup of the day. They are playing at home against Sport.
São Paulo 2 x 3 Palmeiras - FT Didn't really deserve this one. Ref is gonna be a major topic .. not that it typically isn't. On another note, not sure what was up with the pitch. Looks nice and all but everyone was slipping left and right. Made it unplayable in many plays and a reason Allan slipped and committed the PK.
That was a childish play from Danilo. That Lino miss in front of the goal really hurt Flamengo. Bahia score shortly after.
Wow, Wallace Yan just got two yellows in 6 minutes and is off. He was on the field for 10 minutes total. Bahia also had a goal early in the second but it was called back for offside. Filipe Luis was asked after the 0x0 with Cruzeiro why he didn't bring in Wallace Yan and his answer was basically "maybe I should have tried that"... but I wonder if this kind of shit is what was in the back of his mind.
Palmeiras will have trouble a couple of positions vs Juventude during the FIFA date. We will have no striker as Flaco is off to play with Argentina and Roque stupidly got a needless yellow card late in the game. Anibal is also out with Argentina and Emiliano will probably be gone with Uruguay .. so we will have no 5 in the midfield. Abel will have to be creative to find substitutes in those positions. Luighi was supposed to be a backup striker and since the U20 got knocked out early, he should be back. He might be an option.
Wow ... Cruzeiro drop points at home against last place Sport. That I did not expect. Game was pretty back and forth after Sport went ahead in the 1st half. Santos lose to Ceara and are dangerously close to the relegation zone.
Cruzeiro started the game minus 4 essential starters due to suspensions (including the team's best players Kaio Jorge and Fabrício Bruno) and then lost 3 more during the game due to injury. It is tough to win a game when you're down to the goalkeeper and 3 starters. Jardim ran out of good players to sub in and had to bring Marquinhos in, who is a VERY bad player who had a disaster of a game actually wasting several plays that could have been otherwise interesting, and was intensely booed by fans (I was there). About Cruzeiro being happy with the 0-0 against Flamengo, far from it. Cruzeiro had the best shots and the higher xG and deserved to win the game. We really wanted those 3 points, and earning only 1 point from a direct competitor for the title felt like defeat.
I knew this non-PK call in the Choque-Rei game was gonna have legs in the media for days ... but the war of narratives has gone into overdrive more than I thought. I was already annoyed that for a while now that VAR and ref decisions take a substantive amount time in debate programs. Often the game itself is a secondary topic. VAR has made the subject of refs more central than before.
I was somewhat nervous about this game given Flaco and Roque were carrying the offense. But this turned out to be a rout. Juventude really poor. 4 x 0 so far.
What a wasted opportunity for Vitor Roque, being suspended for a match like this. On the other hand, Flaco gets to start for Argentina (reportedly he'll be a starter in the game against Porto Rico). At any rate, Palmeiras now have not only the tiebreaker (more wins) but a 3 point advantage over Flamengo. Of course, that crazy schedule (for both of them and Cruzeiro) starts on Wednesday, one day after Brazil x Japan.
We play Bragantino on Wednesday. Argentina was originally scheduled to play Puerto Rico on Monday but the match got moved to Tuesday to Florida because of the unrest in Chicago. Which probably means Flaco and Anibal won't be part of the roster for the match. Now that you say Flaco is starting, makes it even less possible. I think there is also a 48 hour rule about players playing matches. Filipe Luis has all of his players in training so Flamengo should be ready to take on Botafogo on Wednesday. He is apparently practicing with an attack of BH, Lino, and Carrascal. Big game where Flamengo cannot drop points specially if Palmeiras wins their match. This is shaping up to being a banger of a season finish. A Palmeiras x Flamengo Libertadores final is looking more likely as well as I hear Racing have lost (or might lose) 2-3 important starters for the SF matchup.
Flamengo go up a goal. Nice finish from Pedro. Slight deflection but still would have gone in. As strikers go, he is the best in the league in the finishing department.
Felipe Anderson makes it 3. Allan with the great play to set him up. Kid has been bad lately but came in really well today. 3 x 1