Analysis: in the middle of a gaming marathon, Flamengo suffers from fatigue and poor articulation | Flamengo

The team entered the Maracaná field just 48 hours after beating Goiás with a goal in the last minute. His eventual “reinforcements”, Isla and Everton Ribeiro, were worn down by playoff games and another long trip back to Brazil.

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From the starting team Domènec Torrent chose, five players played for 90 minutes on Tuesday: Hugo Souza, Willian Arão, Thiago Maia and Pedro de Flamengo and Isla de Chile.

Put aside the supernatural Thiago Maia and Isla, able to keep up and perform at a good level. What remains is a tired team, worn down by games and more games, without time to train and with several changes in the starting team.

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No speed to overcome Bragantino’s defense

All of this context must be taken into account. Flamengo had a lot of difficulties against Bragantino due to all these factors, but also because the team that was left to take the field had characteristics that did not take advantage of the opponent’s weakness.

Dome opted for an attack with Everton Ribeiro on the right, Pedro centered and Lincoln open on the left. None of the three exactly excels for speed. And it was precisely a sharp player, with depth, that the team needed to win the high and narrow line of Bragantino.

The team even came through the wings, but without many ideas to finish the plays. In the middle, there was difficulty to mount, Diego unfolded, but could not give the necessary rhythm. Renê and Lincoln took the time to understand each other on the left, while Everton and Isla had few opportunities to connect in the best way.

A more direct game is enough to tie

Dome seemed to understand the situation during the second half. Forced to remove the exhausted Pedro, he used Vitinho on the left and centralized Lincoln. The game began to focus on jersey 11, but the forward, still lacking in confidence, managed to win in one play.

Any plan of the Dome for the final stage, however, was conditioned by a goal conceded in 20 seconds. Bragantino did everything Flamengo had to do: he attacked quickly, both in the execution of the play, and in exploring the characteristics of his players. And the red and black team, once again, made life even more difficult by falling behind on the scoreboard.

Flamengo only seemed to show signs of reaction with the arrival of Bruno Henrique, another conditioning a few minutes into the marathon. Dome organized a line of four attackers, with BH on the left, Everton on the right and Lincoln and Vitinho on the inside.

With more support from Isla, the team began to play more directly, eliminating the need for greater articulation in the middle and opting for the pure filling of spaces in attack. It worked on Lincoln’s goal, with more people in the area, but it stopped there.

Without imagination in an empty midfield, the strategy of tracing the high line of Bragantino’s defense with long shots did not work in the final minutes and hindered the reaction of Flamengo.

On paper, drawing at home with a team in the relegation zone is bad. The context mitigates the obstacle. It should also be remembered that Flamengo could not count on important names who are injured, such as Arrascaeta and Gabigol.

There was a stir on social media because Flamengo failed to become a leader. Two issues must be taken into account: even in the event of victory, the leadership would not be complete, because Atlético-MG has one game less; what matters is to be the first in the last round.