Samuel Lino spares Flamengo at Beira-Rio after another flat night under Jardim

Flamengo spent Wednesday night being outplayed by a team in the bottom half of the Brasileirao, and needed a scrambled finish from Samuel Lino to leave Porto Alegre with anything at all. The 1-1 draw at Beira-Rio was another below-par night for Leonardo Jardim’s side, and it kept the gap to Palmeiras exactly where it was.

Internacional were the better side for an hour

Internacional went in front on 26 minutes, and the goal was a mess of Flamengo’s own making. Rossi pushed away a shot from Carbonero, Jorginho dithered over the rebound and lost the ball, and Vitinho finished from close range with the goalkeeper stranded. Rossi then kept the deficit at one until the break, because Paulo Pezzolano’s team were quicker to everything and created the better openings.

Flamengo, by contrast, managed shots from Carrascal and Lino and very little else. Jorginho’s evening was poor enough that he admitted as much in the dressing room at half-time.

Lino finds the loose ball

Jardim sent his side out for the second half camped further up the pitch, and Flamengo did have the ball for long stretches. Turning it into chances was another matter. The equaliser, when it arrived on 78 minutes, owed nothing to build-up play: the ball pinballed around the Internacional box, dropped to Lino, and he beat Matheus Cunha, a goalkeeper Flamengo themselves once employed. They pushed for a winner in the closing quarter of an hour without ever looking likely to find one.

Mercado was booked for the hosts, with Vitao, Pulgar and De la Cruz all cautioned for the visitors. Nobody was sent off.

A point that suits neither side

Flamengo finished the night on 39 points in second place, five behind Palmeiras, level with the leaders on matches played and with Palmeiras still to kick off against Vitoria later the same evening. It was also back-to-back 1-1 draws for Flamengo, who were held at home by Sao Paulo three days earlier.

Internacional’s problem is more immediate. Twenty-two points from 21 matches leaves them 16th, level with Gremio and one place above the relegation places, and a point against the team in second is not the sort of result that turns a season around. Pezzolano will take the performance. He needs the wins.

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