Flamengo beat Cruzeiro in Brasileirão, Gerson vanishes at Maracanã | OneFootball

Flamengo wins their first match at Maracanã in the Brasileirão

As Marcão, father of Gerson, would say: FOLKS, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY! Flamengo defeated Cruzeiro 2-0 this Wednesday (11th), in the fifth round of the Brasileirão at Maracanã. The goals were scored by Pedro and Carrascal. The match was marked by boos and insults directed at the ‘traitors’: Coringa and his father.

With this result, Flamengo climbs the Brasileirão table with seven points. It’s worth noting that the Most Beloved has one game in hand. The competition leaders, São Paulo and Palmeiras, are yet to play and have ten points each.

HOW WAS THE FIRST HALF?

Flamengo started off in overwhelming fashion! Just four minutes in, Arrascaeta took a corner into the box, Léo Ortiz headed it and hit the crossbar. In the continuation of the play, Cruzeiro tried to clear the ball, but Flamengo’s high press worked, forcing an error from the Minas Gerais team. Pedro took advantage, fought past three defenders, and slotted past Cássio to open the scoring.

At five minutes, Flamengo almost doubled their lead: Arrascaeta received a through ball, dribbled past Cássio and shot, but Fabrício Bruno cleared it off the line. At 12′, Cruzeiro had their first scare. Neyser sped down the left and shot hard; however, Rossi sent it out for a corner. When the clock hit 19′, Fabrício Bruno headed dangerously, forcing another save from the Argentine keeper.

At 33 minutes, a play that made the crowd cheer, but only briefly. Matheus Henrique slipped in front of Everton Cebolinha as the last man, and the referee saw a deliberate handball. Red card. However, VAR intervened and correctly overturned the decision, as the ball did not hit the midfielder’s arm.

Afterwards, the teams played a balanced match, but without major goal chances. As such, Flamengo had less possession (46%), but more shots (8 to 6). A new Mengão in the hands of coach Leonardo Jardim.

HOW WAS THE SECOND HALF?

Just like in the first half, Flamengo came out firing. At six minutes, Paquetá played a beautiful pass to Arrascaeta, who found himself in a great position to score. The number 10 unleashed a rocket, Cássio parried it, and the ball hit the post. At eight minutes, Pulgar fired a spectacular left-footed shot, and the goalkeeper saved again.

Cruzeiro’s best player on the pitch, Cássio, felt a shoulder problem and asked to be substituted at 15 minutes. Thus, another former Flamengo player came on: Matheus Cunha. However, the backup was hardly called into action. The Rubro-Negro dropped their lines and started to control the game.

Despite Cruzeiro having more possession, Flamengo did not suffer any major scares. Except for a serious error by Léo Pereira when playing out from the back on the left side of the defense, but the visitors couldn’t keep their composure to finish. On the counterattack, Mengo sealed the match with Carrascal at 52′.

WHEN IS FLAMENGO’S NEXT MATCH?

Flamengo returns to the pitch next Saturday (14th), starting at 8:30 pm (Brasília time), against Botafogo. The match will take place at Nilton Santos Stadium, the Engenhão. If there’s Mengão on the field, there’s full coverage by Coluna do Fla in another Brasileirão clash.

MATCH DETAILS FLAMENGO 2X0 CRUZEIRO Competition: Brazilian Championship, fifth round Venue: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro Date: March 11, 2026 Goals: Pedro 4’/1st, Carrascal 52/2nd

Flamengo: Agustín Rossi, Emerson Royal, Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira and Alex Sandro; Erick Pulgar, Jorginho and Arrascaeta; Lucas Paquetá, Everton Cebolinha and Pedro. Coach: Leonardo Jardim.

Cruzeiro: Cássio, Fagner, Fabrício Bruno, Villalba and Kaiki; Matheus Henrique, Lucas Silva and Christian; Gerson, Matheus Pereira and Neyser. Coach: Tite

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.