Coluna do Fla
·27 de enero de 2026
Mengão still in it! Nova Iguaçu draw, can't pull away in Carioca

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Yahoo sportsColuna do Fla
·27 de enero de 2026

The situation for Flamengo in the Carioca remains complicated, but it has been worse. With the two games of the fourth round on Monday (26), the Rubro-Negro remains alive in the competition. At Estádio Laranjão, Nova Iguaçu drew 2-2 with Volta Redonda and opened only a one-point advantage over the Rubro-Negro.
Botafogo – 9 points (4 games) Madureira – 6 points (4 games) Boavista – 6 points (4 games) Nova Iguaçu – 5 points (4 games) Flamengo – 4 points (5 games) Maricá – 3 points (3 games)
All the goals of the match happened in the first half. Nova Iguaçu opened the scoring with Xandinho. Later, the visitors turned the game around with Ygor Catatau and PK. In the added time of the first half, Léo Rafael leveled the match on Monday.
Earlier, at Estádio Conselheiro Galvão, the then worst team of the championship, Portuguesa, surprised Madureira and won 2-0. Thus, the suburban team remains two points ahead of Flamengo. In other words, it can still be caught by the current two-time Carioca champion.
Therefore, Flamengo, which could have ended the round practically eliminated, still has – remote – chances of being even the second place in Group B. However, it is worth noting that Mengão only has one more match, while Madureira, Boavista, and Nova Iguaçu have two. At the bottom, Maricá can still make a comeback, as they have three matches to play.
The Campeonato Carioca is divided into two groups of six teams, with the teams facing opponents from the other group and the top four from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. The fifth and sixth places will form the relegation round-robin, in a home-and-away format, meaning six dates to determine the one team that will drop to the second division.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.









































