If there were any justice in football, Flamengo would have gone into halftime at the Arena do Grêmio leading 4-1. But shots off the woodwork—two of them—don’t count, and goalkeeper Weverton, paid by Grêmio to make saves, did just that in front of over 30,000 fans on a freezing night in Porto Alegre.
It wasn’t until the second half that Carrascal scored a brilliant goal, putting Flamengo ahead with a superb move started by Léo Ortiz and finished by Emerson Royal, who provided the final pass for the Colombian.
The victory in Rio Grande do Sul leaves Flamengo potentially just one point behind league leaders Palmeiras, who they will host at the Maracanã before the World Cup break. As a bonus, Brazil’s most popular club pushed the country’s second most-supported team out of the relegation zone—a favor that the Corinthians faithful, literally indebted, will thank them for. The result also dropped Grêmio, Flamengo’s opponent that night, into the bottom four. Cruel, indeed.
On a night when Flamengo converts even half of the chances they create, they will thrash 90% of their opponents. Because in the second half alone, they missed a truckload of goals.