Analysis: convincing and dominant, Flamengo goes beyond the tie by trampling Inter in the second half | Flamengo

Sunday night’s performance in Beira-Rio shows why in a championship where three teams reach the end of the first round balanced on the table, Flamengo has the ball, the squad and the competitiveness to be favorites for the second championship of the Brazilian. Everton Ribeiro’s goal in extra time did justice to the team that left their main rival at home, despite five strong absences.

Those who saw the dominant performance of the second half in Beira-Rio cannot forget that Diego Alves, Rodrigo Caio, Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique and Gabigol were absences in a Flamengo that met during the competition and plays better every day. In the 2 to 2 with Colorado it was like this: the team was slow to understand the intensity of Inter, but they knew how to take the reins of the game over time.

The technical errors of Isla and Gustavo Henrique allowed the gauchos to open an advantage in the first half where they took Flamengo out of the comfort zone, mainly when the ball was out. Inter was intense and compact, bit a lot in the attack field and deserved to go to the break with 2-1.

As much as Flamengo balanced his actions after 20 minutes, Inter were smart in swinging the ball from side to side well and exploring spaces at the rear of a defense with higher lines than usual. With Heitor on the right side, good opportunities were created.

Flamengo, who had a ball in Rodrigo Moledo’s hand inside the area ignored by the referees, also explored the right with Isla, but lacked the same dynamics in the movement of the ball in the middle of the field. Gérson opened on the left was very isolated, it worked little. And it was the play that made the difference in the second half.

The exchange of roles between Gérson and Vitinho, added to the natural wear and tear of an Inter that went through life in the first half, made Flamengo the absolute master of the final stage. The Colorados may even remember Marcos Guilherme’s ball off the post and Patrick’s shot. Fruits of counterattacks in normal spaces allowed by a Flamengo who exposed himself in search of a tie.

The second half was a massacre, and the numbers exemplify it. Flamengo had 77% possession of the ball, finished 12 times against the two already mentioned by Inter and exchanged 299 passes against 66.

More than statistics, the team presented a repertoire. The plays with Isla on the right continued to be the strong point, but there was creation on the inside with Pedro unstoppable in the pivot role, and Filipe Luís climbs up the left.

Lomba made great saves, Heitor took balls over the line, the crossbar helped, but it would be unfair for Flamengo to come home with defeat. And the tie at 49 came from the feet of those who made the difference for such dominance in the second half.

Centralized, Gérson was free to float from the offensive midfield and gave the team dynamism. In the goal, he came out on the left (where he came out in the first half), shot in and found Everton Ribeiro with his head in the middle of the area.

The justice of the tie goes far beyond the result. If Flamengo at times in this unbeaten streak of 11 games won “by force”, in Beira-Rio they tied with the conviction that it is better, yes, than the team that today is its main rival.

In a dispute as fierce as the table indicates, a superiority as great as that of the second half is not normal. It opens up the ability of those with the ball, the squad and the competitiveness to make a difference in the fight for the title. And Diego Alves, Rodrigo Caio, Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique and Gabigol are still missing.