Carioca Championship 2024 - A compiled analysis

The 2024 Carioca Championship has reached the semifinal stage, and Ace Laboratory brings a compiled analysis of the four Rio giants and Nova Iguaçu, which had an impressive campaign and qualified for the final phase of the competition. Flamengo, leading the league stage, Nova Iguaçu, surprising everyone, Vasco, boasting a quality midfield, Fluminense, with a solid defense, and Botafogo, underperforming. Let's analyze the performance of each team and the individual highlights of the competition.

We can say that Flamengo's highlight in this championship was its defensive sector. The team conceded just 1 goal in the 11 matches of the competition, being the 3rd team with the best rate of duels won (40.1%) and the 2nd best if we only consider aerial duels (49.4%) . This security in duels, added to the quality of the players, made Flamengo the club that made the fewest mistakes that led to shots (31) and the one that took the least shots (79) from opponents, with more than 15 shots difference from 2nd place.

With Giorgian De Arrascaeta in midfield, Flamengo's offensive work was also impressive, the player is **above the 3rd quartile** in 6 of the 7 offensive categories we observed, being in the Top 10 of the championship in goals, assists and passes key. The rubro-negro likes to dictate the game and with that he managed to create many opportunities, he was 2nd with the most possession of the ball (57.8%), 1st in the rate of successful crosses (43.3%) , 1st in goals scored (23) and 1st in shots (178), with more than 20 shots ahead of 2nd place.

With this we saw Flamengo's dominance in the 2024 Carioca Championship, the team proved to be solid defensively, being the one that conceded the least goals, and solid offensively, being the one that scored the most goals. With the quality of their players, Flamengo will be favorites for the semi-final against Fluminense, and will be looking for the title undefeated.

The Nova Iguaçu team surprised many with the second-best performance in the league stage of the Carioca Championship. The team does not have a good average in overall defensive metrics, having the lowest possession average among the qualified teams (7th in the entire league), the highest foul rate, and conceding a total of thirteen goals. The key factor for Nova Iguaçu's victories was capitalizing on their shots on goal and converting chances into goals.

Midfielder Bill was the standout player for the team in the competition. The athlete ranked 1st in assists, key passes, and successful dribbles for the team, highlighting his importance throughout the championship. The radar chart below also illustrates the player's versatility in defense, playmaking, and finishing.

With 24 points, seven wins, three draws, and only one defeat, the "Clockwork Orange" team from the Baixada qualifies for the semifinals and eliminates one of the Rio giants. Just like in the league stage, Nova Iguaçu will need to capitalize on their chances to surprise Vasco and reach the final of the Carioca 2024.

Vasco da Gama's championship was marked by its attack, ranking as the 2nd highest-scoring team in the tournament with a total of 20 goals. With a team that maintains ball possession and precision in its passes, Vasco was the 3rd team with the most possession (55%), 3rd in passes (5290), and 3rd in pass accuracy (87.7%).

The standout player of the team is none other than the Frenchman Dimitri Payet. The midfielder was the team's 2nd highest scorer, 1st in assists, and 1st in key passes. Looking at the radar chart, we can see that the player plays a crucial role in creating and finishing plays. Payet was a fundamental piece for Vasco during the league stage and will be essential for the team in the semifinal against Nova Iguaçu.

For the semifinals, Vasco will need to maintain the quality that its midfield and attack have shown in the recent matches of the tournament to avoid surprises and secure a spot in the final of the Carioca 2024.

Fluminense had a solid defense in the competition, together with Botafogo it was the 3rd team that conceded the least goals in the tournament (11), was the leader in duels won (42.0%) and in aerial duels (50.2%), was tied with Flamengo as the one that made the fewest errors that led to shots (31) and was the 2nd club that took the fewest shots (96).

Fernando Diniz's style was present in the championship, with Fluminense being the team with the most ball possession (63.7%), with the most passes (5843) and 1st in passing accuracy (91.0%), characteristic of the coach's game. Midfielder Jhon Arias was a fundamental part of the tricolor squad, having an offensive characteristic, the player was the team's leader in key passes (16), and 8th in the entire competition, which did not correspond to more goals, given that the club scored the fewest goals in the G4 (17). The club's attack was not satisfactory, being 7th in shots (143), Fluminense demonstrated that despite the great exchange of passes, it did not create real opportunities, which resulted in a low number of goals.

Despite the quality defense, the Tricolor attack did not keep up with the performance that its midfield created. This became more evident in the classics, where Fluminense scored just 1 point from the 9 played, scoring 2 goals and conceding 6, more than half of what they conceded in the entire championship. Recopa champions, Fluminense will have work to do if they want to guarantee their third Carioca 2024 championship.

Botafogo had a good defense in the championship, with numbers of the G4, was the 2nd in duels won (40.3%), the 3rd that committed the least errors that led to shots (32), only 1 more than Flamengo and Fluminense, and also the 3rd that received the least shots (101). And to complement the offensive sector, full-back Hugo did a great job creating the team's plays, being 1st in assists in the championship (5) and 7th in key passes (18).

Taking less control of the game, Botafogo preferred to leave the ball with the opponent, being the only team from the Big 4 in Rio to have possession of the ball less than 50% (49.6%), 5th in the championship in exchange of passes (4357), 6th in the accuracy of these passes (84.67%) and 10th in accurate crosses (30.9%). However, its attack proved to be quite efficient with individual plays, the club was 3rd in successful dribbles (234) and goals (19), and 2nd in shots (157 ).

The Carioca Championship is decided in detail, and analyzing the numbers, we saw that Botafogo had an even better performance than Fluminense (4th place) in some statistics, however, the defeat to Boavista in the 3rd round It was decisive for the club not to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament, opening space for Nova Iguaçu, the surprise of the competition.

The semifinals of the 2024 Carioca Championship promise to be exciting. Flamengo, the title favorite, faces Fluminense, which must overcome offensive deficiencies to surprise.

Nova Iguaçu, the surprise package, takes on Vasco, boasting a quality midfield that could be decisive for the team.

We will closely follow all the matches and provide analyses of the semifinals and the final of the Carioca 2024. Stay tuned!