Flamengo beats Mirassol and depends only on themselves to lead the Brasileirão

Flamengo depends solely on themselves to take the lead in the Brazilian Championship. This Wednesday (2), Rubro-Negro faced Mirassol at Maracanã and won 2-0, in a late game in the fourth round of the competition.

The match, initially scheduled for February 26, had to be rescheduled due to the return game against Lanús, in Rio de Janeiro, for the Recopa Sul-Americana. On that occasion, the Cariocas lost to the Argentines 3-2, in extra time, finishing second.

This Wednesday's result took Flamengo to 51 points, just one less than Palmeiras - the difference, in August, was nine points.

This Sunday (6), Rubro-Negro takes on Remo in Mangueirão, at 4pm (Brasília time) - Rádio Nacional broadcasts it live. If they score in Belém, they will take the provisional lead and put pressure on Verdão, who will go to Rio to face Botafogo at 6:30 pm, at Nilton Santos.

The Cariocas will still have the game against the Alviverde team itself. The game for the 36th round will be in November, led by São Paulo, on a date and time to be announced by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

Mirassol, stuck at 25 points, missed the opportunity to move away from the relegation zone, which encompasses the four worst campaigns in the Brasileirão (the so-called Z-4).

In 16th place, Leão Caipira has the same 25 points as Vasco (17th) and Internacional (18th), but surpasses Cruzmaltino in the direct confrontation and Colorado by the number of victories (six to five).

The Maracanã net needed 13 minutes to swing. In a counterattack initiated by midfielder Erick Pulgar, Samuel Lino received the ball on the left, entered the area and passed it to striker Pedro, who opened up on the right for midfielder Jorge Carrascal to hit hard and open the scoring.

Flamengo expanded just before half-time. At 42, Carrascal received the ball on the right and crossed for midfielder Lucas Paquetá to head the ball into the goal.

In the second stage, Mirassol had to change goalkeepers, Walter, injured, giving way to Alex Muralha, who met Flamengo for the first time at Maracanã since leaving the club in 2017. The São Paulo team balanced their actions and put pressure on Rubro-Negro in the final stretch of the match, but without managing to change the story of the match.