This Saturday (16) was a celebration from start to finish for the Fluminense fans.
First, there was Hulk’s presentation on the Maracanã pitch.
Then, in its 2,000th match at the stadium, Zubeldía’s team beat São Paulo, still without Dorival Júnior, 2-1.
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A Matchday 16 Brasileirão clash in front of 28,218 fans in attendance.
Will he make the difference?
Hulk was presented to the fans before kickoff.
But he will only be able to play when the Brasileirão resumes after the World Cup break.
📸 Buda Mendes – 2026 Getty Images
Dorival will have work to do…
Fluminense looked to impose themselves from the opening minutes.
But the first good chance fell to São Paulo, with Lucas Ramon in the air.
Then it was up to the home side to show their quality.
Canobbio got the better of Sabino and John Kennedy finished it off (19′).
Flu then saw Dória “play against” his own side and help Canobbio make it 2-0 (44′) before the break.
Fábio miracles and DRAMA
The second half saw Fluminense controlling the game against a São Paulo side that kept fighting — but without the ability to pose any real danger.
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Then the visitors forced Fábio into two big saves.
He denied Luan in incredible fashion and then stretched all the way to stop Sabino from scoring.
But São Paulo’s next attempt ended up in the net through Dória (79′).
The final minutes were tense.
Fluminense even scored, but Castillo was offside when he “stole” what would have been Soteldo’s goal.
SPFC kept pushing, but paid dearly for a first half that was below expectations.
It is now six straight matches without a win this season.
📊 Standings and schedule 📅
Fluminense moved on to 30 points. They remain third and are now level on points with Flamengo, who have two games in hand.
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On Saturday (23), the challenge will be Mirassol at Maião.
São Paulo, meanwhile, remain on 24 points in fourth. And they could lose several places as the round continues.
They will also return to Brasileirão action on the 23rd, when they host Botafogo.
But before that… both sides have international commitments.
On Tuesday (19), Flu will face a true decider against Bolívar at the Maracanã. Their Libertadores life is on the line.
On the same day, SPFC will host Millonarios at MorumBIS. Also an extremely important match, but in the Sudamericana.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
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