In a hard-fought clash, Cruzeiro and Flamengo draw 0-0 at the Maracanã | OneFootball

Cruzeiro and Flamengo took to the field on Thursday night (2), at Maracanã, to play the most anticipated match of the 26th round of the Brazilian Championship's Serie A. The duel between the leader and the team that was the vice-leader before the round began, brought forward intense teams and expected great duels.

For tonight's match, Leonardo Jardim, coach of Raposa, did not have Wanderson, a striker considered a key piece of his scheme, and also did not have Jonathan Jesus on the bench, both out due to medical issues. The doubt about who would take Wanderson's place was resolved in the lineup: Matheus Henrique would start the match as a starter. This is how Cruzeiro went to the field:

First half

Right from the start, the doubts about how Cruzeiro would position its team were resolved: Matheus Henrique really started in place of Wanderson, playing on the left side of the team.

As expected, Flamengo kept possession of the ball and pressured Cruzeiro's exit with several athletes. With the ball at their feet, the team, in the initial impetus, sought to make quick passes looking for their attackers who varied between wingers and center forward. Flamengo gave Cruzeiro the first scare at 5, when Samuel Lino, alone, headed to the small area and Arrascaeta did not arrive in time to complete.

Shortly after withstanding the initial pressure, Cruzeiro managed to have more chances to work the ball and saw Flamengo use hard fouls to prevent progression and even had some players yellow carded by referee Ramon Abatti Abel.

Cruzeiro responded to the heavy marking made by Flamengo, with more arrivals and also with tactical fouls. Ramon, who did not maintain the criteria, ended up distributing cards to the celestial team, in fouls that were less hard than those committed by Flamengo.

Flamengo's pressure remained with great intensity, despite the celestial defense remaining solid in the face of strong offensive power. Cássio barely acted in clear moves and was more demanded in lifts in the large area.

The best celestial opportunity came in the final minutes, in a quick transition, the ball arrived inside Flamengo's area and Christian first, then Kaio Jorge, shot at goal. Flamengo's defense, along with goalkeeper Rossi, managed to burst the ball in what was Cruzeiro's best moment until the end. And in this scenario, with Flamengo trying to rise with many players to the attack, the match ended with a blank score: Flamengo 0 to 0 Cruzeiro.

Second half

The second half started without changes in the teams. Flamengo kept the rhythm of pressuring Cruzeiro in the defense field and keeping possession of the ball, always looking for its side field attackers, especially Samuel Lino, who was not having a great match at Maracanã.

To respond, Cruzeiro used the already known quick transition, often with the long ball looking for one of its players in depth. And it was in one of these transitions, that Kaio Jorge activated Matheus Pereira, who shot from the entrance of the large area for a good save by Rossi.

When the pressure rose, Cruzeiro forced the opposing goalkeeper to make more saves, especially in finishes by Kaio Jorge, always activated in an attempt to find the back of the rubro-negra defense.

The first substitution came from Flamengo, with Bruno Henrique replacing Samuel Lino. The substitution gave Flamengo more depth, which bet even more on balls on the sides. On the Cruzeiro side, Matheus Pereira was having an excellent match, being the main articulator of the team and finding great passes to create great chances.

Leonardo Jardim made his first change in the celestial team only at 34 minutes of the game. Sinisterra, returning from a time off due to injury, took the place of Christian, on the right side. Filipe Luis responded with Luiz Araújo and Pedro - in place of Carrascal and Arrascaeta, respectively. Jardim, seeing Flamengo's new movement, activated Gabigol to enter the field.

But even before the substitution that would put the number 9 on the field, William fouled Bruno Henrique and took, again, the yellow card, his second, being expelled in sequence. Cruzeiro reached the 39th minute of the final stage with one more player and Jardim responded with two more changes: in addition to Gabigol, Eduardo and Kauã Moraes were also activated, the latter to make his debut with the Cruzeiro shirt. Kaio Jorge, Matheus Pereira and Matheus Henrique were the substitutes.

With 5 minutes of extra time, Cruzeiro bet on the counterattack to try to reach the attack, while Flamengo launched and kept its team almost entirely in the attacking field. Despite the pressure, Cruzeiro managed to hold on and take a point, much celebrated, to Belo Horizonte. End of the game: Flamengo 0 to 0 Cruzeiro.

What's next...

Now Cruzeiro is preparing to face Sport, next Sunday (5), at 8:30 pm, at Mineirão, in a match valid for the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship's Serie A.

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