Flamengo beat Fluminense 1–0 at the Maracanã on Sunday (11) in Matchday 30 of the 2026 Brasileirão.
With important Conmebol Libertadores fixtures during the week, both rivals opted to rotate their squads heavily.
Fluminense, for example, made seven changes to their starting lineup.
Flamengo, with a deeper squad, made just three changes from their last match (a 2–2 draw with Santos).
Against this backdrop, Flamengo dominated the Rio derby, pressing their rivals as they tried to play out from the back and allowing them to create very little.
The first half, however, remained goalless. The most notable incident before the break was Pulgar’s studs-up challenge on Castillo’s knee, but the referee only showed the Flamengo midfielder a yellow card.
After the break, though, Flamengo needed 20 minutes to open the scoring.
Lucas Paquetá crossed from the right, and Carrascal struck a fine first-time finish to beat goalkeeper Fábio.
Trailing, Fluminense had good chances to equalize, but Argentine goalkeeper Rossi made some superb saves, including one from a side-footed shot by Serna, who was unmarked in the box in stoppage time.
The derby win took Flamengo to 64 points and kept them top of the Brasileirão, one point ahead of Palmeiras.
Fluminense, meanwhile, remain third with 51 points, but could be overtaken by Athletico-PR (50 points), who visit Chapecoense on Monday (12).
Fluminense return to action on Wednesday (14), hosting Palmeiras at the Maracanã in the first leg of the Libertadores semifinals.
On Thursday (15), Flamengo visit Estudiantes in Argentina in the same continental competition.
In the Brasileirão, both rivals are back in action next Sunday (18).
Fluminense host Santos at the Maracanã at 4 p.m. (Brasília time), while Flamengo visit Bahia at the Arena Fonte Nova at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time).
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
