In a thrilling finish, Flamengo defeats Santos and continues its pursuit of the Brasileirão lead.

The victory that seemed easy took on an emotional edge at the end. On the road to the national title, Flamengo beat Santos 3-2 on Sunday night (9), at Maracanã, in a game valid for the 33rd round of the Brasileirão. Léo Pereira, Carrascal and Bruno Henrique scored the goals for Mais Querido, who were heading towards a calm end to the game. However, with two goals in two minutes, the Santos team set fire to the added time of the duel.

With the victory, Mengão reached 68 points and is tied with the leader Palmeiras, who still has a game to play in this round. Filipe Luís' team returns to the field next Saturday (15) to face Sport, at Arena de Pernambuco, for the delayed game of the 12th round.  

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The game

The match began with intense battling for possession. Flamengo had the first clear chance in the fourth minute. Bruno Henrique won the ball inside the area and passed it back to Carrascal, who shot first-time, but the ball went into the side netting. Dominating possession, the Flamengo team occupied the entire attacking half, exchanging passes. 

Santos, in turn, adopted a mid-to-low defensive line, waiting for Flamengo in their own half to try and steal the ball and launch counter-attacks. At 25', Bruno Henrique made a beautiful dribble down the left side of the area and passed it back. Arrascaeta arrived and shot first-time, the ball going just wide of the post. 

After much persistence, Flamengo opened the scoring in the 36th minute with Léo Pereira. Arrascaeta took a corner kick into the box, the Santos defense tried to clear, and the ball fell perfectly for the Flamengo defender to skillfully tap it into the back of the net, sparking celebrations among the fans: 1-0. With the goal, Flamengo went into halftime with a bit more peace of mind. 

Returning for the second half, Flamengo continued to prioritize possession in the attacking third, exchanging passes from side to side in search of openings to score. And the strategy worked! Just five minutes in, Mengão scored their second goal. Arrascaeta delivered a great pass to Carrascal, who used his speed to break into the box and fired a powerful shot into the corner, giving Brazão no chance: 2-0. 

Three minutes later, the third goal almost came. Ayrton Lucas crossed into the area, the ball deflected mid-flight and nearly fooled the goalkeeper, who managed to get a touch on it to prevent the goal. 

At 19 minutes, Bruno Henrique sped down the left flank and was brought down inside the area by Willian Arão. Initially, the referee only awarded a corner. However, after reviewing the play on VAR, he awarded a penalty. Arrascaeta took the penalty and the ball hit the goalkeeper's right post, wasting the chance to score the third goal and seal the game.

After the missed opportunity, coach Filipe Luiz made two changes to the team. Saúl and Luiz Araújo came on for De La Cruz and Carrascal, respectively. Then, Lino was substituted for Cebolinha. 

In the final stretch, Flamengo scored a third goal. Cebolinha pressured Igor Vinícius, who played a short pass. Alert, Bruno Henrique anticipated the play, cut past the goalkeeper and simply pushed the ball into the net: 3-0. 

In the final minutes, Santos scored two goals in quick succession. The first was by Gabriel Bontempo, who took advantage of a loose ball inside the area and pushed it into the net. The second was by Lautaro Díaz, who appeared unmarked in the middle of the area and finished into the goal: 3-2. 

In stoppage time, Flamengo held onto the ball in attack and waited for the referee to blow the final whistle. A victory that seemed comfortable gained excitement at the end with Santos' reaction, scoring two goals in two minutes. With the result, Flamengo reached 68 points, the same score as Palmeiras, who still have a game to play in this round.

Flamengo

Rossi; Varela, Danilo, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick Pulgar (Evertton Araujo), De La Cruz (Saúl) and Arrascaeta (Michael); Carrascal (Luiz Araújo), Samuel Lino (Everton Cebolinha) and Bruno Henrique.
Coach: Filipe Luís.

Santos

Gabriel Brazão; Igor Vinícius, Zé Ivaldo, Luan Peres (Gabriel Bontempo) and Souza; João Schmidt, Willian Arão, Zé Rafael (Thaciano) and Barreal (Lautaro Díaz); Neymar (Rollheiser) and Guilherme (Robinho Jr.). 
Coach: Juan Vojvoda.

Week's agenda

The Most Beloved returns to the field next Saturday (15) to face Sport, at 18:30 pm, at Arena de Pernambuco, in a delayed game from the 12th round of Brasileirão. 

Technical sheet

Flamengo 3-2 Santos – Brazilian Championship | Round 33

Location: Maracanã, RJ

Date and time: 09/11/2025 at 18:30 am

Referees: Savio Pereira Sampaio (DF), Rafael da Silva Alves (RS) and Thiaggo Americano Labes (SC)

Yellow cards: Samuel Lino (FLA), Neymar (SAN), Arrascaeta (FLA), Zé Ivaldo (SAN)

Goals: Léo Pereira (36'1st half), Carrascal (5'2nd half), Gabriel Bontempo (43'2nd half) and Lautaro Díaz (45'2nd half).