The victory was the first for the Red Black at Vila Belmiro since 2011.
Santos started the game with a high urgency and even scored twice early on. However, the VAR canceled both goals. First, an interference of play by Raniel and then an interference by Jobson in which the referee understood that the midfielder interfered with the move, even without touching the ball in a free kick from Marinho.
It was a busy night for Gabigol who scored the winning goal against his former side and paid tribute to the already deceased actor Chadwick Boseman, famously known for his Marvel movie “Black Panther”, who died on Friday. Later in the second half, Gabigol missed two great chances and left the pitch injured, with an ankle sprain.
Diego Alves also had to leave the pitch after getting his shoulder injured.
Domenec Torrent made six changes to the team for the match. It didn’t work out at first and Fla started their game poorly. Santos pressed high and created loads of good chances with Marinho the main culprit. Gradually, Fla improved in their game but had to rely mostly on counterattacks than a more possessive ball control strategy. In the end, it worked and the goal came in.
In the second half, Flamengo improved and became more comfortable with the ball but wasted several opportunities to extend the score line. Santos failed to threaten and couldn’t find an equalizer.
Flamengo are now in ninth position with eight points. Santos are one spot below in 10th place with seven points. Flamengo take on Bahia next on Wednesday while Santos hosts Vasco once again in Vila Belmiro on the same day.
