With a late goal, Flamengo beats Fluminense at Maracanã

With excitement until the end! That's how Flamengo beat Fluminense 1-0 on Sunday night (20), at Maracanã, in the 15th round of the Brasileirão. Pedro, who came on in the second half, scored the only goal of the match. With the result, Mengão reached 30 points and remains close behind the leader with one game less. 

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The game

The derby began with both teams trying to maintain possession. Gradually, Flamengo began to hold the ball more, exchanging passes in midfield, looking for space to enter Fluminense's box. On the other hand, Fluminense defended in a low block and waited to counterattack. 

The first half was lackluster, with very few scoring chances. The game was fiercely contested in midfield. Flamengo held the ball mostly but couldn't string together plays to get into the Tricolor's box. Neither team went into the break with the score unchanged. 

In the second half, Flamengo continued to dominate possession and tried to pressure Fluminense's defense, which was well positioned at the back. The first good opportunity came in the 12th minute. Luiz Araújo took a corner kick into the box, and Léo Ortiz headed it into the corner. Fábio jumped to make the save. 

Before the 15th minute, coach Filipe Luís made changes to the team. Juninho and Matheus Gonçalves replaced Cebolinha and Wallace Yan, respectively. Despite the changes, the game remained slow-paced, with few chances created and many passes exchanged in midfield. After being unavailable for two matches, Pedro entered the field in place of Arrascaeta. 

In the 38th minute, Juninho sent a good ball to Pedro. The forward entered the box, feinted past Freytes, and found himself face-to-face with Fábio, shooting hard. The Tricolor goalkeeper palmed the ball away for a corner. And that's when Mengão scored! Luiz Araújo took a shot into the box, Ortiz deflected it at the near post, and Pedro stretched out and tipped it into the net. 

In the final minutes, the red-black team managed the result and left the field with a very important victory to remain firm in the search for the Brazilian title. 

Flamengo

Rossi; Varela, Leo Ortiz, Danilo (Viña) and Leo Pereira; Allan (Evertton Araujo), Jorginho and Arrascaeta (Pedro); Luiz Araujo, Everton Cebolinha (Juninho) and Wallace Yan (Matheus Gonçalves). 
Coach: Filipe Luís.

Fluminense

Fabio; Ignacio (Soteldo), Thiago Silva and Freytes; Guga, Bernal, Martinelli (Hercules), Lima (Nonato) and Renê; Canobbio (Serna) and Everaldo (John Kennedy). 
Coach: Renato Gaucho. 

Week's agenda

Rubro-Negro returns to the field on Wednesday (23) to face RB Bragantino, at 21:30 pm, at the Cícero de Souza Marques stadium, for the 16th round of the Brasileirão. 

Technical sheet

Flamengo 1x0 Fluminense – Brazilian Championship | 15th Round
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 20/07/2025 at 19:30 am
Arbitration: Raphael Claus (SP), Danilo Ricardo Simon Manis (SP) and Evandro de Melo Lima (SP)
Yellow cards: Léo Pereira (FLA), Allan (FLA), Canobbio (FLU) and Pedro (FLA)
Goal: Pedro (39'2nd half).

VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNCEEEE THE FLAMENGO!!!!!

EVERYTHING NORMAL IN RJ NATION! THREE MORE POINTS FOR MENGÃÃÃÃÃÃÃOOO!!

MENGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO#gameover pic.twitter.com/PkFkiKFwdg

- Flamengo (@Flamengo) July 21, 2025