The goals of the games were scored in the second half. The visiting team’s goals were scored by Brenner while the second goal from the away side came from a Hugo Souza blunder when he tried to dribble the opponent and failed. Gabigol scored the red-black goal in the match.
Flamengo’s young goalkeeper did not show prominence as he has shown in previous games.
Coming off the bench to replace Diego Alves, who felt cramps in both legs, the no 45 made a wrong decision that cost his side the game. He tried dribbling Brenner in the goal area but failed and conceded the goal giving São Paulo side the advantage.
This was the sixth time Rogério Ceni, a tricolor idol, faced São Paulo. He still hasn’t come out victorious against his former side. In the six games, he had four defeats and two draws.
The VAR was in action in the game as well. In the 25th minute, Gabigol scored from a good pass from Tiago Volpi but the flag was raised and the video assistant referee confirmed the red-black players impediment.
With the victory, São Paulo goes into the second leg with the advantage in Morumbi next Wednesday. On the other hand, Flamengo needs two goals without reply from São Paulo to advance to the next round of the competition. In the event that the red-black win the second tie and the goals are level, penalties would be used to decide the outcome of the game. The away goal is not a criterion for a tie in the Copa do Brasil.
Flamengo will return to the field next Saturday against Atlético-GO in Maracanã for their next game for the Brasileirão. On that same day, São Paulo faces Fortaleza in Castelão.
