By Lisa Flueckiger, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Laranjeiras-based football (soccer) club Fluminense won the first Rio clássico of the 2015 Brasileirão Série A season against Flamengo in an emotional game with two red cards at the Maracanã with 3-2. Fellow Rio club Vasco lost 3-0 against Atlético-MG, while Botafogo won their game in the Série B.
The Rio clubs in the Série A have all not started too well into the 2015 season and both Fluminense and Flamengo already changed their coaches with Flu hiring Enderson Moreira, while Fla took on former Fluminense coach Cristóvão Borges.
Therefore, the game on Sunday, May 31st at the Maracanã in front of 28,663 spectators was important for both teams, apart from being the clássico with one of the biggest rivalry in Brazilian football.
Fluminense had the better start in the game receiving a penalty kick after only seven minutes, which Fred converted expertly. After 32 minutes it was already 2-0 for the tricolor after a Flamengo own goal, although Alecsandro reduced the score to 2-1 four minutes later.
Yet, in the first minute of the second half it was Fred again who found the net, scoring the 3-1 for Flu. From then on, it would have been an easy night for the tricolor, but only minutes after the third goal Giovanni received a direct red card, reducing Flu to ten men.
Flamengo started to attack more fiercly, but the 3-2 only fell after 85 minutes and there was not enough time left to turn the game around.
Fellow Rio club Vasco da Gama lost their first game of the season, after they had tied the first three and only conceded one goal. The cruz-maltinos lost clearly with 0-3 against Atlético-MG and are now in the bottom four of the table together with Flamengo.
In the Série B things look brighter for the only Carioca club in the second league, Botafogo. The alvinegros won their game against Vitoria with 2-0 and are now in the top three with ten points, the same as Bahia and Nautico.
In the next round, Botafogo will face Paraná on Tuesday, June 2nd, while Vasco will play Ponte Preta at home. Flamengo will face Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte and Fluminense Coritiba at the Maracanã all on Wednesday, June 3rd.