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Fluminense really tried, but it was only 0-0 with Red Bull Bragantino, in Maracana. Odair Hellmann’s team, which suffered a coronavirus outbreak last week, entered the field very absent and had an uninspired performance, like the game on Monday night (30).
With the tie, Flu squandered the opportunity to return to the G-4 of the Brazilian Championship and stopped in eighth place in the competition, with 36 points. Red Bull also missed the opportunity to take the elevator and stalled in 15th position. If he won, he would be at the top of the table.
Deflated, the flu is under pressure
As usual, Bragantino started the game at high speed. Maurício Barbieri’s team scored pressure on the ball from Fluminense, who, lacking due to a Covid-19 outbreak in their squad, lacked player interaction as a problem. To make matters worse, he forced the game on the left, where the improvised right-hander Igor Julião fought to find himself in triangulations with André and Martinelli. Despite having more possession – over 60% – Massa Bruta barely bothered Marcos Felipe’s goal, which went well when shooting, on a free kick from Claudinho, on the visitors’ best chance.
Attacks are missing and the first time is weak
Accustomed to having possession of the ball, the two teams played a bad game in the first half in Maracaná. If they had more control of the actions despite playing away from home, Red Bull could not get past the Fluminense goal lines, only bothering with the dead ball. Already Tricolor, who has a chronic problem in creation, had an uninspired Nenê and a very isolated Lucca at the helm, despite having a good start, giving the team many options. Thus, the best opportunity of the weak first half came in an error by Cleiton, who dropped the ball at the foot of the shirt 77, Flu’s top scorer in 2020 with 19 goals. The veteran, however, tried to shoot straight and sent him outside. The best option was the pass.
Too bad, Nenê is replaced at halftime
Monday night was not good for Nene. For the first time in 2020, the team’s top scorer this season was replaced at halftime after a poor first half. The 77 shirt could not continue the plays and was seen more digging fouls – not scored by referee Dyorgines José Padavani de Andrade – than creating chances for Fluminense. Not even on dead ball, his specialty, the 39-year-old veteran managed to help the team, making mistakes every chance he got. In the best opportunity he had, and Flu’s best in the match, Nenê kicked instead of finding Marcos Paulo free in the middle.
Nenê lost a good opportunity against Fluminense in the first half against Bragantino
Image: Playback / SporTV
The flu gets better with agitation, but does little harm
With Luiz Henrique and Felippe Cardoso on the field in the vacancies of the inoperative Nenê and Wellington Silva, Odair Hellmann’s Fluminense improved, but not enough to break Bragantino’s block. The team got faster, but was less aggressive in introductions. The best opportunity came when Marcos Paulo tried to find room to beat, but failed. Not even the dead ball, the strong point of the team, worked. Then, with Ganso, the team occupied more the attack field, but continued to finish little.
Substitute, Marcos Felipe passes security
Praising a goalkeeper is always a difficult exercise, but Marcos Felipe, if little was demanded, gave the team a lot of security, something that has been lacking with Muriel in goal. When shooting, he made a great save on a free kick by Claudinho, in the first half, and a beautiful shot from the 10 shirt, in the second half. In total, he was very safe in the ball outings, without getting involved playing with his feet.
‘Golden Generation’ goes well with five reps
One of the most promising generations of Flu’s base divisions in Xerém was well represented against Bragantino. Due to the coronavirus outbreak and some injuries to the squad, five players from the 2000/2001 team were on the field: Calegari, André, Martinelli -who was making his debut-, Luiz Henrique and Marcos Paulo played well in Maracanã, with emphasis on the shuttlecocks .
Tribute to Maradona
Before the game, Fluminense paid tribute to Diego Armando Maradona, who died last Wednesday. Midfielder Nenê entered the field with a 10 shirt of the Argentine star in his hands and posed for photographs.
Technical stop even at night
On a very hot Monday in Rio de Janeiro, the game between Fluminense vs Red Bull Bragantino registered a rare technical stop to hydrate, even at night, in both stages. At departure time, which began at 8 pm, the thermometers around Maracaná registered temperatures above 30ºC.
