The 2021 campaign for Flamengo was a season of spectacular highs and agonizing heartbreak for Mengão. The club secured a strong 2nd-place finish in the Série A, and leading the attack was the sensational forward Michael, whose 14 crucial league goals anchored a side that also featured the prolific Gabigol. Despite winning both the Campeonato Carioca and the Supercopa do Brasil, the season remains defined by the crushing defeat in the all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores Final against rivals Palmeiras in Montevideo, a painful near-miss that prevented a historic second consecutive continental trophy and remains a defining chapter of a year filled with brilliant attacking flair.