Flamengo defeats Vitória at Barradão and achieves its first victory in the Brasileirão

Athen in Salvador, Flamengo achieved their first victory in the Brasileirão by beating Vitória 2-1, on Sunday night (6), at Barradão. Arrascaeta and Bruno Henrique scored for Mengão, who dominated the match throughout the 90 minutes, creating numerous scoring chances. 

Now, Mais Querido turns its attention to the Libertadores, when it faces Central Córdoba on Wednesday (9), at 21:30 pm, at Maracanã, in search of its second victory in the continental competition. 

The game
Flamengo started the match looking to attack and created two chances in less than five minutes. The first fell to Gerson, who fired a powerful shot from inside the box, but the goalkeeper made a good save. Then, Wesley delivered a perfect cross for Cebolinha to head dangerously. The ball went just wide of the post. 

After the pressure in the opening minutes, the red-and-black team valued possession, exchanging passes in the attacking half. Vitória, in turn, positioned itself fully on defense, waiting for a counterattack to try and surprise Flamengo. The game was a game of patience. To try and open up space in the Bahian defense, the "Mais Querido" (Most Beloved) moved the ball around the opposing midfield.

In the 30th minute, Arrascaeta chested a pass to Juninho, who unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box. The ball hit the crossbar, and Vitória's defense quickly cleared it. In the final minutes, the game lost some intensity. Despite Flamengo's superiority and several chances, the first half ended goalless. 

After the break, the Rio de Janeiro Red-Blacks continued to dominate the attacking half and keep Vitória in the game with passing. Around the 13th minute, coach Filipe Luís made two changes. Bruno Henrique and Plata replaced Cebolinha and De La Cruz, respectively. 

Gerson took a shot from outside the box in the 15th minute. The goalkeeper made the save. Subsequently, Arrascaeta's genius made the difference for Mengão to open the scoring at Barradão. The Uruguayan stole the ball from Janderson, advanced with the ball under control, and tapped it into the goalkeeper's corner to make it 1-0. 

After the goal, Luiz Araújo and Michael also entered the field. Vitória equalized in the 31st minute with Wellington Rato, who struck from outside the box; the ball deflected and deceived Rossi: 1-1. Mengão didn't give up, going on the attack and scoring the second in the 41st minute. Luiz Araújo crossed from the left for Bruno Henrique, who was well-positioned, to tap it into the net: 2-1. It was the number 101's 27st goal for the Sacred Mantle. 

In stoppage time, Bruno Henrique narrowly missed making it three. On the left wing, Michael outmaneuvered his marker and crossed into the box for the striker to head home dangerously. The game ended at Barradão with Mengão's first victory of the championship.  

Flamengo 
Rossi; Wesley, Leo Ortiz, Leo Pereira and Alex Sandro; Erick, De la Cruz (Plata) and Arrascaeta (Luiz Arap); Gerson (Evertton Araújo), Everton Cebolinha (Bruno Henrique) and Juninho (Michael).
Coach: Filipe Luís. 

GHT - Vitória
Lucas Arcanjo; Claudinho, Lucas Halter, Zé Marcos and Jemerson; Ricardo Ryller, Willian Oliveira (Wellington Rato), Baralhas and Matheuzinho; Erick (Osvaldo) and Janderson (Fabri). 
Coach: Thiago Carpini. 

Week's agenda
Rubro-Negro returns to the field next Wednesday (9) to face Central Córdoba, at 21:30 pm, at Maracanã, for the second round of the Libertadores group stage.

Technical sheet
Vitória 1x2 Flamengo – 2nd Round of the Brazilian Championship
Location: Barradão, Salvador-BA
Date and time: 06/04/2025 at 18:30 am
Refereeing: Rafael Rodrigo Klein (RS), Rafael da Silva Alves (RS) and Michael Stanislau (RS)
Red card: Thiago Carpini (VIT)
Goals: Arrascaeta (16'2nd half), Wellington Rato (31'2nd half) and Bruno Henrique (41'2nd half).