Flamengo gains further lessons for the final stage of the Brazilian Championship with a victory that mixes dominance, blackouts and relief

• Perfect round: Palmeiras lose to Mirasol and Flamengo, returning to tie at the top of Brasileirão
• “Let that serve as a lesson”: Filipe Luis denies concerns about the blackout suffered by Flamengo in victory over Santos

Goals from Leo Pereira, Carrascal and Bruno Henrique were the highlights of a game in which the team had the upper hand and knew how to develop naturally, but a power outage in the final minutes forced them into an unexpected struggle, allowing Gabriel Bontempo and Lautaro Díaz to score.

— I hate conceding goals, and I value the defensive aspect very much. I believe that defense is the biggest weapon for winning. Let this fear serve as a lesson to us. In Brazil and in world soccer, if you let your guard down even a little, you pay a huge price. I’ve already told them (the players). No worries. That’s a different case. But yeah, it hurts me. We don’t want this to happen, said coach Filipe Luis.

The next FIFA schedule will not be a restful one, as next Saturday’s game against bottom club Sport has been postponed, and Palmeiras also visit Santos on the same day. Filipe Luis will miss several games for the national team, but will arrive in Recife in good health. The kind of motivation a team needs to play against a bottom team that keeps losing points.

In the game against Santos, the constant support of the nearly 70,000 spectators in the stands was important in untying the field and bringing us together. Especially since his passing mistakes and lack of concentration resurfaced for most of the first half.

The call for a goal came after 36 minutes, and it was a stroke of luck. On a corner kick from the left, Leo Pereira saw the ball bounce inside the area and come to him, and the defender took a touch. There was nothing Gabriel Brazan could do, sold on the move.

Until that moment, there was little demand for this black and white goalkeeper. The home team’s best finish was Bruno Enrique’s shot past Alaska Eta after a futsal play on the baseline. In fact, number 10 was a candidate for the main character even before the game started. His contract was renewed until 2028, and he received an award during the warm-up and received applause from fans.

Alaska was considered Flamengo’s idol in the final stages of the seventh season, but he went through a carousel of emotions, especially in the second half. It took just five minutes for Carrascal to hit a superb shot that was right in front of the goalkeeper. The Colombian player took solid shots and expanded the game. Shortly after, they had a chance to spice things up with a penalty kick, but the ball hit the post and exploded.

There was another star player on the field, but Neymar has been getting more unnecessary or disappointing headlines lately. Those hoping he would return to the level of soccer that helped lead Brazil to a World Cup win once again saw a player who wasn’t very productive and was more concerned about complaining about referees and his teammates. Unlike in the first leg, which they lost, when he scored, the Flamengo team had a high wall and was accompanied by fans who booed every time the opponent took a touch.

In the second half, Bruno Henrique received a pass from Igor Vinicius and was substituted in the 39th minute, immediately after making the score 3-0. And he didn’t like it. But as it happened, the team improved.