Flamengo defeats Corinthians on penalties and wins the Copa do Brasil.

Agência Brasil - Flamengo made history on Wednesday night (19) at the Maracanã stadium, defeating Corinthians 6-5 in a penalty shootout (after a 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes) to win the Copa do Brasil title. This is the fourth time that Rubro-Negro has taken home the competition trophy (after 1990, 2006 and 2013).

 In addition to the sporting achievement in front of more than 68 thousand fans, the team from Gávea secured a great financial prize: R$60 million.

 Early goal

Perhaps trying to avoid offering spaces for Flamengo to work the ball freely in attack, Portuguese coach Vítor Pereira fielded a line of five in defense, with Gil, Balbuena and Fábio Santos in the back, and Fagner and Lucas Piton on the wings. 

However, even with this conservative formation, Timão did not wait around and took the first dangerous shot of the match. With less than a minute of play, Renato Augusto stole the ball and shot from the edge of the area, but Santos saved it.

But Dorival Júnior's team did not give in and began to look for spaces to attack, especially with Arrascaeta. And the Uruguayan soon showed his efficiency. Six minutes in, the number 14 found Everton Ribeiro, who, with his first touch, put Pedro one-on-one with Cássio. The center forward showed composure and scored to open the scoring.

The disadvantage on the scoreboard did not discourage Timão, who had a good opportunity to equalize in the 14th minute. Du Queiroz received the ball in the midfield and passed it to Roger Guedes, who, despite being free, missed the shot inside the area. Two minutes later Arrascaeta appeared again. The Uruguayan received the ball from Pedro, turned on a marker and shot with placement, but wide.

At 32 minutes, the team led by Dorival Júnior managed to score again in the match, this time with Arrascaeta. But the goal was disallowed by the referee, with the help of VAR (video assistant referee), due to Gabriel Barbosa's irregular position in the play.

Just before half-time, Timão had a good opportunity with Róger Guedes, who, after a quick counterattack, hit the ball over the crossbar.

 Draw in the second half

After the break, coach Vítor Pereira replaced Lucas Piton with Adson. Needing at least one goal, Corinthians began to take more risks. In the 6th minute, the São Paulo team almost equalized when the ball fell to Yuri Alberto at the edge of the area, who shot hard over the goal defended by Santos. 

But this more offensive stance from Timão offered more space to Rubro-Negro, who came close to scoring with a shot from Arrascaeta that was saved by Cássio in the 8th minute and a shot that went wide by Gabriel Barbosa in the 12th minute. 

A minute later, it was Corinthians who had a crystal clear opportunity, when Adson crossed to Róger Guedes, who, despite having great freedom, headed wide even though he was inside the area. 

In the 16th minute, Flamengo managed to beat goalkeeper Cássio again, this time with Everton Ribeiro. But the play was disallowed due to another offside position by Gabriel Barbosa. 

From then on, Corinthians began to keep more possession of the ball, circling the Rubro-Negro area, which was showing signs of physical fatigue, especially in the midfield. And, after so much insistence, Timão equalized in the 36th minute, when midfielder Giuliano took advantage of a rebound, after a back and forth in the small area, to beat Santos.

With the score tied, Dorival Júnior's team became completely disorganized, while Vítor Pereira's team continued to create opportunities. However, the tie remained until the end of the 90 minutes, which led to a penalty shootout. 

Coldness in penalties

 In the penalty shootout, Flamengo showed more composure to win 6-5 and take the title. Timão started the match with Fábio Santos, who didn't hesitate, but soon after, Cássio saved a shot from full-back Filipe Luís. From then on, Corinthians scored with Giuliano, Renato Augusto, Yuri Alberto and Maycon, and saw Fagner and Mateus Vital miss their shots. Flamengo didn't miss any more, with David Luiz, Léo Pereira, Everton Ribeiro, Gabriel Barbosa, Everton Cebolinha and full-back Rodinei, who scored the winning goal.