FLAMENGO DEMONSTRATES TACTICAL SUPERIORITY IN VICTORY OVER FLUMINENSE

The first place in the Carioca Championship final will only be defined next Saturday, but in practice the hammer could have already been hammered last night. With frightening consistency for their opponents, Flamengo defeated Fluminense, dominated the classic from start to finish and could have beaten their rival at Maracanã by four, five, six goals. But the "skinny" 2-0 victory, despite giving a good advantage, still left the match open.

After all, which Red and Black team has ever managed to forget the last Carioca's final? Flamengo beat Fla-Flu 2-0 in the first leg in 2023, but on the return leg they were beaten 4-1 and lost the title. Now, there is the difference of being in the semi-final and Fla having the advantage of two results with the same balance. In other words, this Tite team that refuses to concede goals would have to concede three goals and not score any to not qualify. Still, let's say that "fat still doesn't allow you to cut your diet."

THE REAL TACTICAL "KNOT"

Of the three Fla-Flus from the Tite Era so far, this last one was the one with the best performance. In the return of last year's Brasileirão, Flamengo dominated the first half, but lost control in the second. No da Taça Guanabara, he took on a well-mixed Fluminense team and was superior, but without creating that many chances. On Saturday, the team played an almost perfect game tactically, they knew how to nullify their rival's weapons and remained on the field.

The Flamengo knew how to exploit Fluminense's less scoring midfield to dominate the sector; the pressure on the ball was done with excellence; the composition of the wingers was impeccable, and the most talented opponents were double marking. One example was a move by Arias, one of Fluminense's main names. At 29 of the second half, he starts from the defense field, escapes from Arrascaeta's cart, passes between Igor Jesus and Cebolinha, and soon Viña arrives to take the ball.

What was left to be done then? perfect? Perfection is something very rare in football, there are always mistakes, whether minor or major. Considering the efficient pressure on the ball, the team just made a mistake, which ended up being the origin of the opponent's only scoring chance in the game. In the 20th minute of the first half, Pedro went to fight Thiago Santos on the baseline, and Cebolinha "let go" of Arias to close the corridor. Fluminense managed a rare line break, and Guga crossed for a free-kick from Diogo Barbosa. It was 0-0, luckily he finished poorly.