Palmeiras takes advantage of expulsion, beats Flamengo and shoots in the Brasileirão

The "decision" of the Brazilian Championship between Flamengo and Palmeiras, in the 17th round, promised excitement - and it delivered, especially in the first half, when the capital moment of the confrontation came out: the expulsion of Colombian midfielder Jorge Carrascal. Amid this scenario, Verdão went to Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), on Saturday night (23), and won 3-0, with goals from Flaco López, Allan and Paulinho.

With the result, the visitors once again take the lead in the Brasileirão, with 38 points, seven more than the home team, who played one game less. The Red and Blacks "should" face Mirassol, at home, in the fourth round - the duel had to be postponed due to the very final of the Recopa Sul-Americana, on February 26, when Lanús went to Maracanã and won the title.

The victory also had a special flavor for the Alviverde coach, Abel Ferreira. At Allianz Parque since October 2020, the Portuguese ended an uncomfortable fast: he beat Flamengo for the first time in the Brasileirão - until now, there were five draws and five defeats in ten matches against the red and blacks.

First half
Taking advantage of the strength of Maracanã, Flamengo started the match dictating the pace and creating good opportunities, especially in the actions of Samuel Lino and Lucas Paquetá - both, however, stopped at goalkeeper Carlos Miguel. In the first minute, the attacker took a long shot, and the archer sent it to a corner; Then, at 14, the midfielder entered the area with space and was unable to take it away from Palmeiras. The red-black situation, however, became delicate at 20.

Carrascal raised his leg too much in a dispute over the top with Murilo, in the Palestine defense field, hit the visiting defender's head and received a straight red card. Even with an extra man, Palmeiras took a while to threaten the home team. At 35, Flamengo made a mistake with the ball, Verdão managed to trigger Flaco, who passed to Andreas. The midfielder finished, but Léo Pereira managed to deflect it for a corner.

Soon afterwards, the visitors opened the scoring. At 37, Marlon Freitas made a great throw to Allan, who managed to spin and touch Flaco. The Argentine center forward cleared Léo Pereira and, with his left foot, hit hard to score the first goal of the match. Before the break, at 42, there was still time for Gustavo Gómez to block Samuel Lino's shot after a mistaken ball from Palmeiras.

Second half
The final stage had other important moments in the history of the match - and everything could have changed after just ten minutes, when Paquetá took a free kick from the right midfielder, Samuel Lino headed the ball, and Carlos Miguel flew in to prevent the equalizer.

Next, at 11, Allan started from the defense field, entered the area and, despite "picking up chips", still managed to trigger Jhon Árias. The Colombian finished, the ball hit Varela and went up; the Uruguayan went up, but saw Allan win the fight at the top and, with his shoulder, extend the score.

Both teams were still in danger on other occasions. At 34, Paquetá took a long shot and saw the ball come out of the right fork. At 37, Maurício started individually and ended up looking for the right corner. Rossi went to catch it, preventing the third goal for Alviverde.

When the Palestrian victory looked like it would be 2-0, the score became even more comfortable. At 49, the visitors accelerated the counterattack with Jefté, who found Paulinho. The attacker finished, and Rossi even touched the ball, but was unable to make the save.

In the celebration, the Colina boy ordered the red and black fans to remain silent, which led to confusion, started by the Uruguayan midfielder Nicolás de la Cruz, who went to show satisfaction with the player from Palmeiras.

Next games
With no players in the squad for the World Cup, the two teams will be homers next weekend, in the 18th round of the Brazilian Championship, the last before the break for the World Cup. On Saturday (30), Flamengo faces Coritiba, at Maracanã, at 4 pm. On Sunday (31), at 4pm, Palmeiras will face Chapecoense, at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo (SP).

First, however, the duo enters the field for the last round of the Libertadores group stage. With the leadership of Group A assured, Mengão hosts Cusco, at 9:30 pm on Tuesday (26), once again in Rio de Janeiro. Verdão, who is still competing to qualify for the round of 16 with Sporting Cristal, will face Junior Barranquilla, at Allianz Parque, at 7pm on Thursday (28).

Libertadores: who they are and how many titles the tournament champions have

Standings provided by Sofascore

Source: CNN