Mengão thrashes Fortaleza and takes the lead in the Brasileirão

In the 11th round of the Brasileirão, the last before the Club World Cup, Flamengo did their homework in style by thrashing Fortaleza 5-0 this Sunday (1), at Maracanã. Arrascaeta, Evertton Araujo, Luiz Araújo (2) and Michael scored the goals in the red-black triumph. With the result, Mengão took the lead in the championship with 24 points.

The game
Flamengo started the match controlling possession, passing the ball around until they started attacking. Five minutes in, the first chance came. Luiz Araújo received the ball at the edge of the box and fired a well-placed shot, but João Ricardo made a good save. 

The red-and-black team continued to attack, while Fortaleza adopted a deep stance and barely managed to break out of their own half. In the 13th minute, a good attacking move between Cebolinha and Alex Sandro, who went to the byline and crossed to Bruno Henrique in the box. The number 27 caught it first time with his left foot, and the goalkeeper stretched to palm it away, sending it out for a corner. 

After so much persistence, Mengão opened the scoring in the 29th minute with the Brasileirão's top scorer! Léo Ortiz carried the ball through the midfield and delivered a beautiful pass with his outside of the foot for Arrascaeta to control and beat the goalkeeper: 1-0. It's the number 10's ninth goal in the championship.

After the goal, the Mais Querido continued to attack, looking to extend their lead. In the 40th minute, Varela passed the ball to Evertton Araujo, who passed it back first, allowing the full-back to burst into the box and fire a powerful shot. João Ricardo saved Fortaleza once again. The first half ended with the red-and-blacks completely dominating. 

Just two minutes into the second half, Mengão extended their lead. Varela passed the ball to Evertton Araujo at the edge of the box, who controlled it and fired a superb shot into the goalkeeper's right corner to make it 2-0. 

Fortaleza didn't have time to breathe, as Mengão scored the third goal right away. Arrascaeta set up Luiz Araújo to take a shot, but the goalkeeper still got a touch on the ball before it went in: 3-0. 

With a three-point lead, coach Filipe Luís rotated the squad and made three changes. Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique, and Cebolinha were replaced by Erick Pulgar, Pedro, and Michael, respectively. 

Even with a comfortable lead, Rubro-Negro wanted more and scored the fourth in the 25th minute. Varela accelerated down the right and crossed for Michael in the box to hit first time into the corner: 4-0. 

The fifth came three minutes later, again from Luiz Araújo. Pedro stole the ball from Zé Welison and back-heeled it to the number 7, who advanced into the box and slotted it into João Ricardo's corner: 5-0.

In the final minutes, Viña replaced Alex Sandro and made his debut for Flamengo this season, after recovering from a serious right knee injury. Flamengo valued possession and waited until the final whistle to leave the field with a resounding victory. With this, Filipe Luís's team returns to the top of the competition. 

Flamengo
Rossi; Varela, Leo Ortiz, Danilo and Alex Sandro (Viña); Evertton Araujo, Gerson and Arrascaeta (Erick Pulgar); Luiz Araujo (Juninho), Everton Cebolinha (Michael) and Bruno Henrique (Pedro).
Coach: Filipe Luís.

Fortaleza
João Ricardo; Tinga, Kuscevic, Gustavo Mancha and Mancuso (Gastón Ávila); Ze Welison, Emmanuel Martinez, Pochettino (Yago Pikachu) and Lucca Prior (Breno Lopes); Marinho (Rodrigo Santos) and Deyverson (Lucero).
Coach: Vojvoda. 

Next appointment
Rubro-Negro will only return to the field on June 16th to face Esperánce (TUN), at 22 pm (Brasília time), in Philadelphia, for the first round of Group D of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Technical sheet
Flamengo 5x0 Fortaleza – Brazilian Championship | 11th Round
Location: Maracanã, RJ
Date and time: 01/06/2025 at 18:30 am
Refereeing: Gustavo Ervino Bauermann (SC), Alex dos Santos (SC) and Gizeli Casaril (SC)
Yellow cards: Alex Sandro (FLA) and Zé Welison (FOR)
Goals: Arrascaeta (29'1st half), Evertton Araujo (2'2nd half), Luiz Araújo (11'2nd half and 28'2nd half) and Michael (25'2nd half).