Flamengo cruised to a dominant 1-0 victory over Grêmio on Sunday (May 10), closing the gap on Palmeiras in the Brazilian league. Following the match, former player Rafael Sóbis offered a blunt assessment of the Rubro-Negro’s performance and squad depth.
“I love watching Flamengo—they impose themselves wherever they go. Yesterday it was wide open: after 20 minutes, Grêmio’s players were exhausted from chasing. Then Flamengo started making substitutions… it’s unfair,” Sóbis said on the Sportv program “Fechamento.”
Jorge Carrascal scored the decisive goal to secure the win. The match saw Flamengo control the first half at Arena do Grêmio, creating numerous chances but failing to break through before halftime. Leonardo Jardim’s side piled on pressure, forcing goalkeeper Weverton into several saves.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Flamengo dominating possession and Grêmio defending deep. The breakthrough came in the 68th minute when Emerson Royal delivered a first-time cross to Carrascal, who volleyed home to open the scoring. The goal originated from a brilliant long pass by Leo Ortiz to Emerson Royal, who had just come off the bench.
Jorginho was the orchestrator of Flamengo’s performance. The Italo-Brazilian midfielder dictated the tempo, seemingly everywhere on the pitch. He finished the match with 135 touches and completed 121 of 125 passes (97% accuracy).
With this result, Flamengo moves closer to the league leaders, while Grêmio missed a chance to climb the table. Sóbis’s comments highlight the perceived gap in quality between the two sides, underscoring Flamengo’s strength as a title contender.
