Climbed! Flamengo officially announces the 11 starters who will face Bolívar, in the Libertadores

Pedro's injury seems to reveal the real extent of the loss of space in Flamengo's team under coach Tite. Bruno Henrique has been chosen so far for the role of center forward and, against Vasco, this Sunday (15), the coach opted for Carlinhos as a substitute. A situation that idol Maestro Júnior sees as an attempt to send a message to Gabriel, who entered the classic with five minutes to go.

“It was strange, really. Even because of his CV and everything he has done, independent of Carlinhos. But I think he would automatically be the man to step into that role. Whether it was more fixed or like he has done, leaving the area more. Some message was given, but Tite didn't comment at all...", Júnior said on the program 'Seleção SporTV'.

Tite was asked about the decision at the press conference and, just as Júnior said, he didn't comment much about it. the case. The stance that the coach adopts in some questions during the press conferences, and the Gabigol topic is probably the main one. He limited himself to saying that the option was based on “training and games”, in addition to highlighting Carlinhos’ decisive moments this season. Indicating that Camisa 22 is ahead.

The red-black coach's assistant and son, Matheus Bachi, assured that it was a tactical decision. This is because they assessed that the team needed a player who could take advantage of the crosses that were being created.

But the justifications were not enough to convince André Rizek. Continuing the debate with Maestro Júnior, the journalist stated that he doesn't see how Gabigol can be useful in Tite's Flamengo if he is behind Carlinhos in the hierarchy.

“He loses Pedro and opts for Bruno Henrique. But then Bruno leaves the game and the person who enters is not Gabigol, but Carlinhos. And so, if Gabigol doesn't beat Carlinhos at this moment, I can't see him being useful. A melancholic end for one of the greatest players in Flamengo's history.”

There was a current that stated that Tite could opt for Carlinhos instead of Gabigol to maintain as much as possible the characteristics that the team had with Pedro. This is because, despite technical differences, both are taller center forwards, who compete for the aerial ball and can pivot at the edge of the area. However, the choice of Bruno Henrique has already forced a change of system.

The red-black team no longer has a regular center forward. This is because, although good at playing from the top, Bruno does not usually act as a reference to hold the ball in attack. Which forces Flamengo to play with a more mobile attack, with position changes with Luiz Araújo, Gerson and now Gonzalo Plata. In addition to having reduced shots and touched the ball more in the last two games.

Tite, therefore, is already willing to change the way he plays and adapt to the team without Pedro in charge of the attack. But he has not yet shown that he is considering the possibility of testing the team with Gabigol in the starting 11.

International's 3 x 0 victory over Cuiabá, on Monday night (16), in Beira-Rio, ended the 26th round of the Brasileirão. With the result, the team from Rio Grande do Sul reached 38 points, in 8th position, and moved closer to the top squad.

Flamengo and Fortaleza were the G-4 teams that did not win, therefore, they saw Botafogo and Palmeiras opens up an advantage in the fight for the title. At the other end of the table, Corinthians lost and remains in the relegation zone. Defeated by Juventude, at Alfredo Jaconi, Fluminense is the first team outside the Z-4.

Atlético-GO 0 x 2 Vitória – Antônio Accioly

Athletico-PR 1 x 1 Fortaleza – Ligga Arena

Botafogo 2 x 1 Corinthians – Nilton Santos

Palmeiras 5 x 0 Criciúma – Allianz Parque

Bragantino 2 x 2 Grêmio – Nabi Abi Chedid

Juventude 2 x 1 Fluminense – Alfredo Jaconi

Cruzeiro 0 x 1 São Paulo – Mineirão

Bahia 3 x 0 Atlético-MG – Source Nova

Flamengo 1 x 1 Vasco – Maracanã

International 3 x 0 Cuiabá – Beira- Rio

1st Botafogo – 53 points

2nd Palmeiras – 50

3rd Fortaleza – 49

4th Flamengo – 45 (1 game less)

5th São Paulo – 44

6th Bahia – 42

6th Bahia – 42

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7th Cruzeiro – 41

8th International – 38 (2 games less)

9th Vasco – 35 (1 game less)

10° Atlético-MG – 33 (2 games less)

11° Juventude – 32

12° Bragantino – 31 (1 games less)

13° Athletico-PR – 30 (2 games less)

14° Grêmio – 28 (2 games less)

15° Criciúma – 28 (1 game less) less)

16° Fluminense – 27 (1 games less)

17° Vitória – 25

18° Corinthians – 25

19th Cuiabá – 22 (1 games less)

20th Atlético-GO – 18

Flamengo took the field on Thursday night to face two opponents. In this sense, Tite's men had Bolívar and altitude as opponents. With the 2-0 score at Maracanã last week, the red and black team could lose by up to 1 goal difference, and would still be able to qualify for the quarter-finals. In this sense, that's what ended up happening in La Paz, as the red-and-black team from Rio was defeated 1x0, apart from the struggle at the end of the match.

Flamengo at the beginning of the match, abusing plays on the sides with crosses into the area. However, Flamengo's defense got the better of it with Fabrício Bruno and Léo Pereira in the area. Wingers Bruno Sávio and Ramiro Vaca were Bolívar's most dangerous players, but the moves they made did not have a happy ending with Oviedo and Fábio Gomes in the area . Rossi was little required, with only two more laborious saves.

Flamengo had a great chance, in the 16th minute, with Gerson. The midfielder received a pass from De La Cruz, but tried to dribble past goalkeeper Lampe and missed the opportunity to open the scoring.

In the second stage, the scenario remained practically the same, except that Bolívar opened the scoring right at the beginning of the stage. At 11 minutes, Fábio Gomes passes a beautiful cross from midfield to Bruno Sávio, and the attacker attacks Ayrton Lucas' back to score with a header. The goal encouraged the Bolivians, who needed one more to at least take the decision to Penalties.

Tite decided to change the team, but ended up bringing the Bolivians even more, with 20 minutes remaining before the end of the match . However, the red and black team "knew how to suffer" and with the 1-0 score maintained, they returned to Rio with a place in the quarter-finals.

Even with the defeat, Flamengo qualified for the quarter-finals of the Libertadores by 2-1 on aggregate. In the quarterfinals, the red and black team faces Peñarol, from Uruguay. However, Fla now needs to turn the key back to the Brazilian championship.

Tite's men welcome Bragantino to Maracanã. The confrontation against São Paulo will take place next Sunday, at 8 pm (Brasília time). The red-black team has 41 points, five less than leader Botafogo.