In Europe, the Super Cup is often viewed as a glorified pre-season event or a marketing event in Saudi Arabia, which has happened in Italy and Spain in recent years.
The same cannot be said about the Supercopa do Brasil, which, since its reintroduction in 2021, has been one of the fiercely contested events.
On Sunday afternoon local time, Brasileirao winners Flamengo took on Copa do Brasil winners Corinthians at the Mane Garrincha stadium in Brazil’s capital of Brasilia. When a side from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo come together, there’s always extra spice added to the game.
The stadium was packed out, and there was a raucous atmosphere as the first trophy of 2026 was up for grabs in Brazil. Flamengo were the current holders after defeating Botafogo 3-1 last year, while Corinthians were seeking to lift the trophy for the first time since 1992.
First Half
The match started, and it took a while for the first real chance of the game. Erick Pulgar had a strike from the edge of the box, which was deflected wide for a corner.
From the resulting set piece, Pedro had a header cleared off the line before the ball fell to Jorge Carrascal, who ran onto a bouncing ball, striking it with power, but it was not enough to trouble Hugo Souza between the sticks for Timao, who made a comfortable save.
Pedro went close again moments later, but Souza was on hand once again to deny him.
The Copa do Brasil winner had been quiet until a strike from distance from Breno Biden brought them their first effort on goal.
Then, a wonderfully worked corner straight from the training ground saw Matheuzinho play a long-range pass to the head of Gustavo Henrique, who teed up centre back Gabriel Paulista to perfection, who fired the ball into the net, giving Corinthians a 1-0 lead.
From that moment, it was Corinthians who had the better of the chances, and a wonderful counter-attack saw Memphis Depay one-on-one with Rossi, who made a great save to deny him.
Second Half
At the start of the second half came a footballing first… Jorge Carrascal was shown a red card after a VAR review from an incident in the first-half that showed the Colombian elbowing Breno Bidan.
The correct call, but the question is why they waited until after the break to review the call?
The second half was the polar opposite of the first. Lucas Paqueta came on 12 minutes after the restart, his first game for Flamengo since a 2-1 loss to Athletico Paranaense in December 2018.
Rossi denied Flamengo twice in succession before Depay found the back of the net, only to be ruled out for offside.
The Rubro Negro had the majority of the ball in the second half, but failed to trouble Souza, until the dying embers of the match, when record signing Paqueta had a glorious chance to pull Flamengo level, only to fire his shot high over the bar.
Then, moments later, Yuri Alberto showed great composure to walk the ball into an empty net, and after a VAR check, it was confirmed he was onside, and Corinthians would lift the first title of the 2026 season, sending the Timao fans wild.
