Renato Gaúcho said he asked Weverton and Carlos Vinícius to take their third yellow card before Grêmio met Flamengo at the Maracanã on Tuesday night, a move that left both players suspended for the league game. The match was set for 19h30, and the decision put Grêmio’s selection for one of the season’s biggest fixtures back at the center of the Campeonato Brasileiro race.
That is why Flamengo Vs Grêmio was drawing attention before kickoff. Grêmio had already rested five players in a 4-1 loss to Vasco the previous week, and Renato repeated that the latest bookings were about fatigue rather than Flamengo itself. He said the choice was made to protect the squad, even as the suspensions directly altered the lineup for a meeting that mattered to both clubs.
Renato did not hide the mechanics of it. He said the decision was taken after the previous round, when Grêmio beat Athletico 2-0 and Weverton and Carlos Vinícius became suspended. His explanation was simple: if the squad kept adding absences through injury and accumulated cards, the situation would become much harder. He also stressed that the call was made for the club’s benefit, not as a gesture aimed at Flamengo, even though that is the team affected by it on the night.
Flamengo, meanwhile, went into the match with Carrascal back from suspension and with Saúl and Valência cleared by the medical department to play. Plata was out after picking up a third yellow card against Vasco, while Paquetá was in treatment after leaving that game with pain in his left knee. The timing mattered because Flamengo had 73 points, led Palmeiras by three points and had two more wins, a margin that made the table look healthier but did not end the title race.
That is where the pressure now lands. Leonardo Jardim said four more victories would be enough for Flamengo to secure the championship, while the club also issued a note backing him and José Boto. Behind the scenes, though, the board planned to review both only at the end of the season, and Jardim’s contract runs until December 2027 while José Boto’s ends in December. The result on Tuesday night did not just shape one match; it fed straight into a title run and a season in which Flamengo can afford very little margin for error.
