It’s true that few teams can go toe-to-toe with Flamengo, and that argument serves as a justification for Grêmio’s defeat at Arena do Grêmio. What the scoreline fails to show, however, is the completely submissive performance from Luís Castro’s side — I honestly cannot recall seeing Grêmio play so timidly at home. The irony is that by playing solely to avoid a heavy defeat, the Tricolor finished the round inside the relegation zone.
While the final score was modest, the match statistics tell a different story. Flamengo completed 733 passes (compared to Grêmio’s 338), held 68% possession, and fired 20 shots at goalkeeper Weverton — who was a key reason the scoreline wasn’t wider. And the numbers still miss the essential point: the game unfolded as if Flamengo was taking Grêmio for a walk on their own pitch, controlling every moment as if Luís Castro’s team was not merely insufficient but a puppet on the field.
Throughout the entire match, it felt as though Grêmio was terrified of being routed. To achieve that goal, they abandoned any attacking intent — and at times, it seemed they even lost the will to exist. While they managed to avoid a thrashing, losing by just one goal, the result feels paradoxical: perhaps a 3-0 defeat would have been less humiliating, as long as they had shown, even for three seconds, some defiance against Flamengo, the financial disparity, the global geopolitical situation — against life itself. Grêmio wasn’t routed, but they left the stadium diminished.
Carrascal’s goal midway through the second half was more predictable than a pop song. The paradox is that when analyzing individual performances, no Grêmio player had a catastrophic game. What has become repetitive — and was highlighted by Flamengo’s quality — is the collective failure of the Grêmio team, which fails to impress even in wins against modest sides, as happened against Riestra days earlier — not to mention stumbles against Chapecoense, Remo, Torque, and Palestino.
Against the red-and-black side, the Portuguese coach started with three center-backs and two more orthodox holding midfielders. The plan was essentially just to resist, and even that was executed poorly. Later, he tried other formations, but in none of them did Grêmio become even a minor threat to Flamengo’s control. Facing the same Flamengo, other teams technically inferior to Luís Castro’s squad managed at least to cause some discomfort, while Grêmio didn’t even dare to believe. It’s an embarrassing situation for a club that spent R$110 million in the last transfer window.
The consequence of such passivity — besides the home crowd’s boos — was a spot in the relegation zone. The position is uncomfortable, but the gap to seventh place is only three points (in a wonderfully tight table where almost every team is fighting to avoid the drop). What really makes even the most serene Grêmio fan pull their hair out on Monday is that the team has shown no signs of improvement for a long time, regardless of the opponent. Against a side like Flamengo, they almost enter a psychological regression.
Grêmio fans booed the players after the loss to Flamengo.
