Flamengo begins its journey in the Carioca Feminino Under-20 against Real Heips in Gávea

The Brazilian Championship is already past the halfway point, and the title race is starting to take on decisive proportions . Cruzeiro forward Kaio Jorge believes Flamengo and Palmeiras have a slight advantage due to their greater chemistry, but Palmeiras remains firmly in the running.

Kaio Jorge, from Cruzeiro: "It's very difficult to play against Flamengo"

"I have a lot of confidence in my team. It's very difficult to play against Flamengo and Palmeiras. Of course, we have the mindset of being champions. They have a more cohesive team, but we also have a very strong team , and I have complete confidence that we can fight for the title," said the striker in an interview with TNT Sports.

INDIVIDUAL DISPUTE: KAIO JORGE X ARRASCAETA

Besides the title race, Kaio Jorge also competes with Arrascaeta for the top scorer and the tournament's best player title. The Cruzeiro player has 15 goals, compared to the Uruguayan's 13, who, in turn, stands out for his number of direct goal involvements : in addition to his goals, he has also provided 10 assists.

SITUATION IN THE TABLE

Flamengo leads the Brasileirão with 50 points and a game in hand . Cruzeiro is close behind with 47, while Palmeiras is in third place with 46 and two games remaining. Mirassol rounds out the top four of the competition with 39 points and a game remaining.

FLAMENGO'S NEXT COMMITMENTS

Before returning to the field for the Brasileirão, Rubro-Negro faces Estudiantes (ARG) this Thursday (18), at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), at Maracanã, for the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Conmebol Libertadores . Then, for the 24th round of the Brazilian Championship, Flamengo plays the classic against Vasco, on Sunday (21), also at Maracanã.

Flamengo hosts Estudiantes this Thursday (18), at Maracanã, for the first leg of the Conmebol Libertadores quarterfinals . Despite some absences, coach Filipe Luís will have important reinforcements: Varela and Bruno Henrique are available again.

PROBABLE LINEUP

After training last Wednesday (17), the tendency is for coach Filipe Luís to send onto the field a Flamengo with: Rossi; Varela, Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; De La Cruz (Allan), Saúl and Arrascaeta; Plata, Samuel Lino and Pedro.

CAST SITUATION

During training on Wednesday (17), the coaching staff finalized the list of players involved. Alex Sandro (calf) and Jorginho (thigh) are still recovering and are already working on the field, but individually. The same goes for Pulgar, who is in transition with physiotherapy and should only start training with the group at the end of September.

In defense, Léo Ortiz and Léo Pereira remain the starting duo . Having recovered from a groin injury, Varela is expected to return to right-back, while Ayrton Lucas has the advantage over Viña on the left. In midfield, Filipe Luís is expected to keep the trio that played against Grêmio: De La Cruz, Saúl, and Arrascaeta, although Allan will also compete for space.

Up front, there are more options. Plata, Samuel Lino, and Pedro are the favorites, but Bruno Henrique could take the center-forward spot, as he did against Internacional. Another possibility is for Luiz Araújo to start on the right, with Samuel Lino on the left and Plata in the center . Filipe Luís, however, remains a mystery and will only confirm his lineup hours before kick-off, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time) at the Maracanã stadium. The return leg is scheduled for next week in La Plata, Argentina.

Filipe Luís's work as Flamengo's manager has received praise from various sectors of Brazilian football. However, this week, former coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo sparked controversy by downplaying the former full-back's ideas. During the Galvão e Amigos program, the former coach stated that the club's style is not innovative .

Vanderlei Luxemburgo on Filipe Luís's Flamengo: "Nothing new, because we do that there"

"There's nothing new in what we're seeing here. He (Filipe Luís) waits to make a decision, and when he makes a decision, he advances the marking . Two against one, three against one. He loses and presses. Nothing new, because that's what we do," Luxemburgo declared.

THE CONTEXT

The speech came after Flamengo 's victory over Juventude, last Sunday (14). During the analysis of the game, commentator Marco Antônio Rodrigues, Bodão, highlighted that he saw a “European standard” in the way Filipe Luís organizes the team . The observation irritated Luxemburgo, who promptly responded.

"When Jorge Jesus took over at Flamengo , the team started playing like that, and we haven't seen a Brazilian team play like that in a long time. Pressing marking . It's a training system of European coaches. I know you (Luxembourg) have won everything, but they came with a certain mentality," said Bodão.

" You want to portray something as new, and it's not, " Luxemburgo retorted, visibly annoyed. "It's not new, but you didn't put it into practice," Bodão countered. "Of course you did, unless you saw it," Luxemburgo replied, before Galvão Bueno intervened, changing the course of the discussion by mentioning Arrascaeta's name.

THE IMPACT OF FILIPE LUÍS

Despite the criticism, the numbers speak in favor of the current Flamengo coach. Flamengo leads the Brazilian Championship, boasting the best attack and the tightest defense in the competition . Whenever questioned, Filipe Luís emphasizes that he draws inspiration primarily from Jorge Jesus and Diego Simeone.

The former full-back recently turned down a multi-million dollar offer from Fenerbahçe (TUR), making it clear that he intends to stay at Flamengo to fulfill the goals he set out to achieve when he took over the team. The club also rejected the offer.