6-POINT GAME: FLAMENGO

Introduced to the world as Anitta's new boyfriend during Paris Fashion Week, Brazilian midfielder Vini Souza is having a great time on the field.

Despite being relegated with Sheffield United to second place division of the English Championship last season, the 25-year-old player quickly turned things around and established himself as the protagonist of his team's attempt to return to the Premier League.

The former Flamengo player is already the first placed in the Championship's tackles ranking, second in England. Furthermore, last weekend, he wore the "Blades" captain's armband for the first time, the nickname by which his team is known.

The ability to steal the ball from opponents is precisely the best feature of Anitta's boyfriend's game. Two seasons ago, when he played for Espanyol, he was one of the record holders for this foundation in the Spanish La Liga. This was precisely the reason that made Sheffield pay 12.5 million euros (R$ 75.7 million) to take him to England.

In the current season, the Brazilian has an average of 4.3 tackles per game in the Championship, according to data collected by "WhoScored?". The one closest to him is Englishman David Ozoh, from Derby County, with 3.8 balls recovered each match.

Even in England's top division, there is only one player with better defensive numbers than Vini's. Souza: Ivorian Ibrahim Sangaré, from Nottingham Forest, who has an average of 5 tackles per match played.

One of the 12 remaining players in the squad. Sheffield squad relegated last season, the midfielder gained the trust of coach Chris Wilder and joined the hierarchy of team captains. The owner of the armband continues to be defender Jack Robinson, who has been at the club since 2020. But, in his absence and the revelation of Oliver Arblaster, created from the youth teams, the position now goes to the Brazilian.

Starting in the six rounds of the Championship already played and without having been substituted even once in the season, Vini debuted as captain in the 1-0 victory over Derby County, last Saturday.

"This is a sign of that my work is being valued, not only for what I've been doing on the field, but off it as well", he stated.

Last Thursday (26), Flamengo was unable to overcome the necessary challenges and was eliminated from the Libertadores da America in the quarterfinals. After this elimination, coupled with recent unsatisfactory results in the Brazilian Championship, Tite faces increasing pressure on his position. It is no surprise that many fans are in favor of the coach's dismissal.

A poll carried out by the portal 'Coluna do Fla' revealed that a significant majority of fans voted in favor of Tite's departure. In total, 82.5% of participants expressed support for the coach's dismissal, while only 17.5% were opposed to the idea.

In short, Tite has a contract with Flamengo until the end of 2024. Almost a year at the head of the red-black team, the coach has not yet achieved unanimity among the fans. This is partly due to the recent defeats in the Brasileirão and the elimination in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores.

Recently, the coach became the target of several demonstrations by fans. In Gávea, graffiti on the wall asked: “Out, Tite”. Furthermore, in the stadiums where Flamengo plays, shouts of support for the coach's dismissal have resounded in the stands.

Before the elimination in the Libertadores, Flamengo's directors were supporting Tite's stay. However, after the early exit from the continental competition, the scenario changed.

Although Tite's resignation has not yet been made official, president Rodolfo Landim considers that Rodrigo Dunshee's campaign is at risk if Flamengo ends the season without winning a significant title. In this way, the red and black leaders began to consider the possibility of dismissing the coach.

With the electoral scenario in view, together with the elimination in the Libertadores, Tite's future was questioned behind the scenes at Flamengo by first time. However, according to information from ESPN, the red and black board should not make a decision on the coach's dismissal before the semi-finals of the Copa do Brasil.

The first part of the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship ended this Saturday (21), with Fortaleza's 4-1 victory over Bahia, at Arena Castelão. With the result, the team from Ceará rose to second place in the table, while Bahia saw its chances of overtaking opponents being frustrated. Flamengo will play this Sunday (22), against Grêmio.

Fortaleza opened the scoring with Marinho, ex-Flamengo, but Bahia quickly drew with Everaldo. However, the Ceará team went ahead again in the first half, when Marinho scored again in the 37th minute, making it 2-1. In the second half, Pochettino increased the advantage, and Renato Kayzer completed the rout.

1st Botafogo – 56 points

2nd Fortaleza – 52

3rd Palmeiras – 50

4th Flamengo – 45

5th São Paulo – 44

6th Bahia – 42

7th Cruzeiro – 41

8th International – 38

9th Vasco – 35

10th Atlético-MG – 33

11th Youth – 32

12th Red Bull Bragantino – 31

13th Athletico-PR – 30

14th Grêmio – 28

15th Vitória – 28

16th Criciúma – 28

17th Corinthians – 28

18th Fluminense – 27< /p>

19º Cuiabá – 22

20º Atlético-GO – 18

At the opening of the round, Corinthians beat bottom team Atlético-GO 3-0, at the Neo Química Arena. At the same time, Vitória defeated Juventude 1-0 at Barradão, in Salvador.

Next, Botafogo beat Fluminense at Maracanã 1-0, with a goal in the final minutes of the second half , increasing its advantage over Flamengo. Finally, in the northeast classic, Fortaleza beat Bahia 4-1, at Arena Castelão.

This Sunday (22 ), six matches complete the 27th round of the Brasileirão. At 4pm (Brasília time), Vasco and Palmeiras face off at the Mané Garrincha Stadium, in Brasília, while Atlético-MG hosts Red Bull Bragantino in Belo Horizonte.

Later, at 6:30pm, four games will be played: Flamengo visits Grêmio in Porto Alegre, Criciúma and Athletico-PR play in Santa Catarina, Cuiabá and Cruzeiro face each other at Arena Pantanal, and São Paulo hosts Internacional at Morumbi.