With both Gremio and Palmeiras picking up all three points little has changed at the top of the Brasileiro. The attention instead was turned to the Fla-Flu derby game between Rio’s finest Fluminense and Flamengo. With Thiago Neves and Renato Augusto leaving Rio for greener pastures in Europe and the middle-east respectively fans wondered how the teams would fare without their talismanic number 10’s.
The first sign that Neves would not be as sorely missed as first thought was when his replacement, argentine Conca let fly with an unstoppable shot that left the Fla keeper Bruno to pick the ball out of the net. This was followed by yet another thundering strike by new boy Mauricio which left the unfortunate Bruno as a spectator once more as it flew right past him into the far corner of his goal. The 2-1 score line was very harsh on Flamengo who had applied serious pressure to Fluminense for much of the game.
Spurred on by over 40,000 of their fans, former Manchester United midfielder Kleberson popped up in the box to fire home the equalizer in the 43rd minute of the second half to earn his side a well deserved point. This result does little for either team as Fluminense were looking to create a buffer between them and the relegation dwellers whereas Flamengo in mid-table are hoping to sneak into 4th and gain entrance into the Copa Libertadores, currently occupied by city rivals Botafogo.
