Bruno Henrique saves Sampaoli and restores glory to Brazil

The victory was colossal. Botafogo, the clear leaders of the Brazilian championship, after 21 rounds, achieved a record 100% home play – an astonishing and absolutely unprecedented in the history of our football. Data like this is enough to highlight the importance of Flamengo’s victory, which was achieved in the midst of a major crisis in the team and which, in the event of defeat, could lead to the dismissal of coach Jorge Sampaoli.

Bruno Henrique saved his skin. With a great individual performance, he shot the best player on the field, drew, embroidered and scored a wonderful goal by covering, at the great archer Alvinegro Lucas Peri, to secure a victory that could restore grace to the championship, in the event that Glorioso suffers. New stumbles ahead – and the sudden emotional outburst of coach Bruno Lage, who made the job available after defeat, creates a worrying uncertainty for the tournament leaders.

However, it wasn’t all flowers at Flamingo. If Bruno Henrique’s individual performance made the difference, on a collective level Sampaoli’s squad is still in shambles. The meeting was reduced on Saturday evening at Nilton Santos Stadium, due to the double readiness of its players, despite the lack of a tactical system to help them in the course of matches.