ATTENTION! FLAMENGO ENTERS THE FIGHT FOR ANOTHER RIVER PLATE JEWEL

This Sunday night (22), at 6:30 pm (Brasília time), Flamengo will face Grêmio, in Porto Alegre, in the 27th round of the Brasileirão. A victory is crucial for Rubro-Negro, who currently has 45 points, to get closer to Fortaleza, third placed, with 49 points. Meet five Grêmio players, led by Renato Gaúcho, who deserve special attention in the clash.

Cristaldo: the midfielder, the team's starter, is Grêmio's top scorer in the Brasileirão with four goals.

< Braithwaite: ex-Barcelona, ​​the Danish center forward arrived at Grêmio in the last transfer window and has already scored three goals in Serie A. Pay attention to his performance, Flamengo.

Soteldo: the Venezuelan point guard is the leader of Grêmio's assists in the championship, with two passes for a goal, the same mark as Cristaldo.

Pavón: the Argentine striker also has two assists in the competition, equaling Cristaldo and Soteldo in terms of decisive passes.< /p>

Marchesín: goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín is going through a good phase and is the team's absolute starter. He has the third best average of Grêmio players in the Brasileirão, with 7.22 on the SofaScore app.

Probable lineups:

Grêmio: Marchesín; João Pedro, Gustavo Martins, Kannemann and Reinaldo; Villasanti, Dodi, Monsalve, Cristaldo and Soteldo; Braithwaite.

Flamengo: Matheus Cunha; Wesley, David Luiz, Cleiton and Ayrton Lucas; Everton Araújo, Allan, Alcaraz and Lorran; Gabigol and Carlinhos.

Last clash: Flamengo won with a highlight from Luiz Araújo

Grêmio will seek a rematch against Flamengo at their Arena this weekend. In the first round, at Maracanã, Rubro-Negro won 2-1, with two goals from Luiz Araújo. In stoppage time, Edenílson reduced the score for the Gauchos. Due to the clash against Peñarol in the Libertadores on Thursday, Tite will spare part of the red and black squad this Sunday.

The Flamengo was defeated by Peñarol last Thursday (19), 1-0. However, the Uruguayans' goal generated controversy, as Erick Pulgar kicked the ball into his own hand when trying to clear it. Thus, Conmebol released the audio of the VAR analysis.

Five minutes into the second half, at a Peñarol intersection in the Mais Querido, a player from the Uruguayan team deflects the ball to the middle of the small area and Pulgar, when trying to move away with his back, kicks it into his own arm. The move generated a lot of complaints from the opponent's players, but the referee did not check it with the VAR.

So, this past Friday (20), Conmebol released the analysis of the move, and the official audio from the VAR booth, in communication with the field referee, Jésus Valenzuela, at the time of the play.

VAR AUDIO

“In the 50th minute, a defender in red and black ends up unintentionally throwing the ball into his arm, which was there as a result of his movement, justifiable by the action he performs. This does not constitute a hand infraction, as the player throws the ball against his own arm in an indeliberate manner”, explained the analysis of the play.

“The referee observed the action, and see that the game continues . The VAR carried out its protocol review, analyzing it with the appropriate angles, speeds and correct considerations regarding the action. And it confirms the original decision on the field”, he added.

Already in the VAR booth, the decision was taken quickly and the analysis of the move was carried out quickly.

“Check completes, takes the hand, but it comes from his own foot, from the inside out”, pointed out VAR number one, Juan Soto.

The Libertadores quarter-finals will start this Tuesday (17). Thus, Colo-Colo (CHI) and River Plate (ARG) open the first round of matches at the Monumental David Arellano Stadium, in Santiago. The ball rolls at 9:30 pm, with Brazilian Raphael Claus refereed.

It's worth remembering that Colo-Colo eliminated Junior Barranquilla (EQU) in the round of 16 of the Libertadores. Furthermore, the Chilean team has only one defeat in the last 15 games it has played, with 11 wins and three draws.

Meanwhile, River Plate doesn't know what it's like to lose in nine matches. Remembering that coach Marcelo Gallardo returned to the Argentine team. In total, there are four wins and five draws in the season. To reach the quarterfinals, the team had to eliminate Talleres (ARG).

AND FLAMENGO?

While the other teams finalize their preparations to enter on the field, the Flamengo squad will still have one more day for training. This is because Mais Querido will only face Peñarol on Thursday (19), at 7pm.

This way, Rubro-Negro will be able to keep an eye on the games in their bracket and see who their possible opponent will be if they advance to the semi-finals. Flamengo and Peñarol play the first leg of the quarter-finals on Thursday (19), at Maracanã.