📹 Flamengo lose to Fortaleza, miss chance to go top overnight | OneFootball

At Arena Castelão, Flamengo lost to Fortaleza 1-0 this Saturday (25), in a match valid for the 30th round of the Brasileirão 2025.

Dividing attention with the Libertadores, where they seek a spot in the final after defeating Racing 1-0 in the first leg of the semifinals, coach Filipe Luís fielded a team with six changes from the usual starters.

And this "shared focus" seems to have had a negative effect on the red-black team, as especially in the first half, the players seemed to be "holding back".

Flamengo was unrecognizable in the initial stage, with a very exposed team, suffering from counterattacks and, most importantly, with a worrying attitude, as if the match wasn't worth the leadership (at least temporarily) of the Brasileirão.

The Lion, who entered the field giving the game its due importance, after all, needed the victory to continue fighting to stay in Serie A, opened the scoring in one of the many counterattacks they had in their favor.

On the occasion, at 11 minutes, Herrera launched Breno Lopes at speed behind the red-black defense, and the forward shot from outside the area to beat Rossi.

Breno Lopes managed to find the net again against the Cariocas, but the offside was called on the play.

After the break, Flamengo "got into the game". At least, a little.

Still with ball possession but attacking more aggressively, the Red-Black had some good chances to equalize and put goalkeeper Brenno to work.

The score, however, was not changed. A very important result for the tricolor fans and quite disappointing for the Red-Black Nation.

🚦 Standings

With the result, Flamengo remained with 61 points and in second place.

Palmeiras, who leads the Brasileirão with the same points, can open a new gap this Sunday (26).

The problem is that Verdão - who is also dividing attention with the Libertadores semifinals - faces Cruzeiro, currently in third place with 56 points.

Fortaleza, on the other hand, reached 27 points and climbed to 18th place.

In the next round, the Red-Black hosts Sport at Maracanã on Saturday (1), while the Lion visits Santos at Vila Belmiro on the same day. 

Before that, Flamengo goes to Argentina to face Racing at Estadio Presidente Perón on Wednesday (29) for the second leg of the Libertadores semifinals. 

The Carioca team has the advantage of a draw, having won the first leg 1-0.

Featured photo: Disclosure/X Fortaleza EC

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