Flamengo Defeats Neymar's Santos and Keeps their Title Hopes Alive.

Hello friends, how are you all doing?

In front of almost 70,000 fans at the Maracanã, Flamengo won the match against Neymar's Santos 3-2. The score might somewhat mask the true nature of the game during the 90 minutes, but those who watched saw that the Flamengo team was dominant for much of the match and only made a mistake in the final stretch, allowing Santos to score two goals and almost threatening Flamengo's victory.

This victory came at a good time, because the last game, a draw against São Paulo, left a feeling of sadness for the Flamengo fans, as we are in the final stretch of the Brasileirão and every game has to be considered a final. It's incredible how strong Palmeiras' mental game is. Perhaps this is one of the few weaknesses of Filipe Luís' team during the season.

Change of Attitude was Decisive for the Victory

Remember that in the first-round game, Flamengo was completely unrecognizable when facing Santos at Vila Belmiro. It seemed like a celebratory game because of Neymar's presence. Smiles and hugs were very present in the match, and it was noticeable that the Flamengo players were careful not to injure Neymar during physical confrontations.

Fortunately, at the Maracanã, the match valid for the 33rd round of the Brasileirão showed a different Flamengo, more cohesive and more focused. Although Arrascaeta missed a penalty, the team remained dominant for practically the entire match. With goals from Carrascal, Léo Pereira and Carrascal. Flamengo secured three more points and closed the gap on Palmeiras with 68 points.

Santos with Neymar

It's logical that the Santos team hasn't given up, but it's clear how difficult this final stretch of the Brasileirão is. Against the league leaders Palmeiras alone, Neymar's team will face them twice, and the first match is in the next round. Coach Vojvoda will need to revitalize the São Paulo team as much as possible to try and avoid their second relegation in Santos' history.

At the end of the match, Neymar wasn't happy with his substitution. He even questioned the coach, repeatedly asking, "Are you going to take me off?" It's logical that he would have liked to be with the team, as he is the star and ace of the Santos team, but curiously, the team started to react after his substitution.

With goals from Lautaro Díaz and Gabriel Bontempo, Santos showed they were determined to fight for a draw. With the introduction of Robinho Jr., the team improved considerably. However, despite the 8 minutes of added time at the end of the match, Santos suffered a defeat at the Maracanã and, as a result, remains in the relegation zone in 17th place with 33 points.

The fight for the title continues, and I have no doubt it will be exciting until the final round. Only one victory separates Flamengo from the lead, and Palmeiras will need to win against Mirassol away from home to maintain the gap. What was noticeable this Sunday was that Filipe Luís's changes didn't have much effect and that the players need to be more attentive so that the mistakes are not repeated.