A Trip to Paraguay
Adriano’s side travelled to Paraguay to face Cerro Porteño. Adriano set up the side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and keeps switching up his tactics, to keep his opponents guessing. Flamengo took the lead through Willian Arão in the 13th minute and Gabigol made the score 2-0 after 21 minutes, but Porteño bought one back just before half-time with their first shot of the game. In the second half Flamengo continued to dominate and Willian Arão scored his second of the game, with one of his trademark long distance bullets. Adriano’s side are really on a good run of form, that is 6 consecutive wins now in all competitions.
Willian Arão Goal v Cerro Porteño
After beating Cerro Porteño, Flamengo faced Bangu in the Rio State Championship. Bangu are bottom of the group, so it should have been a comfortable win for Adriano’s side. He decided to rotate the team, but the players still performed well. Flamengo were 4-0 up after 31 minutes, but in the second half Bangu fought back scoring two goals. The game ended 4-2, Flamengo the winners. Willian Arão scored a brace, Ribeiro scored again, and experienced full-back Rafinha scored from the penalty spot. Flamengo will face Cerro Porteño at home in their next match in the Copa Libertadores.
In the return fixture against Cerro Porteño, Flamengo played well but couldn’t break down the Paraguayan defence. Flamengo dominated the match with 68% possession and 28 shots but just couldn’t score one goal. Flamengo are still top of the group with 8 points. Just two games left in the group and Cerro Porteño and River Plate have 5 points each, so the group is still wide open. One more win should be enough to see Adriano’s side top their group and progress into the knockout stages.