Flamengo boss sends Palmeiras a message in Brasileirão title race

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Coluna do Fla

·11 Mei 2026

Flamengo boss sends Palmeiras a message in Brasileirão title race

Flamengo closed the gap to Palmeiras in the 15th round of the Brasileirão

Flamengo beat Grêmio 1-0 last Sunday (10), in a match from the 15th round of the Brasileirão. With this result, the Rubro-Negro reached 30 points and moved to within just four of current leaders Palmeiras, while still having a game in hand. Amid this scenario, head coach Leonardo Jardim spoke about the battle for first place.

In a measured tone, Jardim avoided treating the race for the top spot as an obsession. The coach stressed that, at the moment, Flamengo is not paying attention to its rivals’ results, but rather focusing on its own matches.

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We really don’t think much about who our opponents are; we think about taking the three points at stake in every match. That’s our focus, regardless of the opponent’s result. In the last round, we dropped two points and our opponent did too, and that wasn’t why we were more motivated or less motivated. I think it was a very good week because we advanced in the Libertadores (considering the win by walkover over Ind. Medellín), earned three more points in the Brasileirão, managed to recover some players, and now we’re going to prepare for the big game, the big final against Vitória. We have to advance in the Copa do Brasil,” Jardim said

What is Flamengo’s situation in the Brasileirão now?

After beating Grêmio, Flamengo cut the gap to Palmeiras by two points in the Brasileirão. That’s because, in the same round, the São Paulo side could only draw 1-1 with Remo.

At the moment, Palmeiras has 34 points, compared to Flamengo’s 30. Although the green-and-white side’s advantage may seem big at first glance, it is important to point out that Fla has a game in hand. In this way, the real gap could be just 1 point if the Rubro-Negro wins the postponed match against Mirassol.

What is Flamengo’s next match?

Flamengo returns to the field on Thursday (14) to face Vitória in the second leg of the fifth round of the Copa do Brasil. The match will take place at Barradão, and Fla only needs a simple draw to qualify. In the first leg, the Most Beloved won 2-1. As a result, it now defends its advantage away from home, and Jardim is expected to field an alternative lineup.

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