Flamengo face Bragantino in Brasileirão as Ayrton Lucas suffers early injury
Flamengo hosted Red Bull Bragantino at the Maracanã in round 28 of Brazil's Brasileirão on Sunday, with left-back Ayrton Lucas forced off injured just four minutes in. The match came days after Flamengo secured a Copa Libertadores semifinal berth.
Match basics
Flamengo hosted Red Bull Bragantino on Sunday, September 20, at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, in round 28 of Brazil's Brasileirão championship. Kickoff was set for 18:30 Brasília time. Sources differ slightly on broadcast details: Veja states the match aired on both SporTV and Premiere, while Lance! mentions only Premiere.
Flamengo fresh off Libertadores progress
Flamengo arrived at the match having just secured a Copa Libertadores semifinal spot — on Thursday the team drew 1-1 with Independiente del Valle at the Maracanã, advancing on aggregate after a 2-0 first-leg win in Ecuador. Arrascaeta scored the decisive goal late in that match, which Leonardo Jardim's side finished a man down in the second half after Jorginho's red card. The congested schedule forced Jardim to rotate — Erick Pulgar, Lucas Paquetá and Samuel Lino were unavailable due to suspension, while Evertton Araújo was out injured.
Confirmed lineup
According to Lance!, Flamengo's actual starting eleven was: Rossi; Varela, Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Jorginho, Saúl and Arrascaeta; Carrascal, Plata and Pedro. This differs from the "probable lineup" published before the match by Veja, which expected suspended players Pulgar, Paquetá and Lino to feature — a prediction that did not hold up.
Bragantino's situation
Red Bull Bragantino returned to Rio after a 1-1 draw with Botafogo, sitting on 36 points and trying to close the gap to the Libertadores qualification zone. Coach Vagner Mancini had to make a forced change up front, since Wallace Yan was serving an automatic suspension after being sent off against Botafogo; Henry Mosquera was among the options to replace him, with Isidro Pitta expected to lead the attack. Eduardo Sasha continues to deal with a knee issue, and Davi Gomes remains out following surgery.
Early injury blow
Just four minutes into the match, Flamengo suffered a setback: left-back Ayrton Lucas felt pain in the back of his thigh during a physical duel with Fernando and left the pitch in tears. He was replaced by Alex Sandro. Sources differ on which thigh was affected — ge.globo twice reports the left thigh, while Flamengo's official statement, cited by Lance!, refers to the right thigh. The club said Ayrton Lucas would undergo imaging tests later on Sunday to determine the severity of the injury.
