Vasco Wins Against Flu in Rio Clássico in the Brasileirão

By Lisa Flueckiger, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bottom of the table Vasco da Gama won some much needed points against Carioca rival Fluminense in the third Rio clássico of the 2015 Brasileirão. The cruzmaltinos won the game of the 14th round at the Maracanã on Sunday, July 19th with 2-1.

Jhon Cley from Vasco da Gama was the man of the match with the assistance for the first goal of the cruzmaltinos after 39 minutes in the first half, scored by Andrezinho with a header and the second goal after 25 minutes of the second half with a beautiful effort from outside the area.

In between, thirteen minutes into the second half, Fluminense had scored the equalizer with a volley from Marcos Junior. However, the effort of the tricolor was not enough and the team had to take a setback in their quest for the title, leaving the top spots of the table to Atlético-MG and Corinthians from São Paulo.

The preparation of the game had been all about the arrival of Ronaldinho Gaúcho, who finally had made it to Rio de Janeiro last week. Ronaldinho transferred to Flu from Mexican club Querétaro and was highly anticipated by Flu’s fans.

Also in the 14th round of the Brasileirão, Flamengo won against Gremio with 1-0. The goal was scored by Peruvian striker and new Fla player Paolo Guerrero. The victory lifted Flamengo to the 14th spot of the table, however with only a four point distance to the bottom three.

In the Série B, Botafogo won the top game against Nautico with 1-0 and remains the leader of the league after thirteen games played. However, Vitoria, América-MG, Bahia and Nautico are all close followers, so the alvinegro can’t afford to slip in the run to make it back to the top league in 2016.