On Thursday night (19), Flamengo hosted Peñarol at Maracanã for the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores da América and came out with an unfavorable result. In front of more than 64 thousand fans, the team led by Tite had several opportunities, but failed to score.

The Uruguayan team took advantage of one of the few chances and, with a goal from Cabrera, secured a 1-0 victory. Now, Mengão will need to reverse the deficit in the second leg, scheduled for next Thursday- fair (26), in Montevideo.

This Thursday's defeat puts the Rio team in a delicate situation. To guarantee qualification to the semi-finals, Mais Querido will need to win by two goals at the Campeón del Siglo Stadium. A simple victory will take the decision to penalties, while any other score guarantees Peñarol's place. The result was even more painful for the club, as Flamengo has not lost at Maracanã in Libertadores competitions since 2019, also to Peñarol.

The return game is full of expectations, mainly due to the historic rivalry between the two teams in the South American competition. The winner of this duel will face, in the semifinals, the winner of the clash between Botafogo and São Paulo. On the other side of the bracket, there are River Plate (Argentina), Colo-Colo (Chile), Fluminense and Atlético-MG, which makes the path to the final even more competitive.

FLAMENGO AND PEÑAROL RETURN TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Before the decisive match for the Libertadores, both teams have commitments for their national leagues. CRF travels to Porto Alegre to face Grêmio, next Sunday (22), at 6:30 pm, for the Brazilian Championship. Peñarol faces Cerro, also on Sunday, at 7pm, away from home, in the Clausura of the Uruguayan Championship.

Flamengo entered the field on Thursday night. With a packed Maracanã, Tite's men played the first match of the Libertadores quarter-finals against Peñarol (URU). The objective was to play a good game and take an advantage for the return game, next week. In this sense, the Rio team ended up disappointing the more than 60 thousand paying guests at the stadium and lost 1-0, in one of the team's worst matches of the year.

Summary

Peñarol It started well and Peñarol soon showed that it would play on the red and black error. Therefore, the Uruguayans opened the scoring after 12 minutes, with Cabrera, in a counterattack. Soon after, Flamengo responded with Plata's header hitting the post. But the red and black team had difficulty creating chances. In the final stretch of the first half, Flamengo grew and had great opportunities to draw. Bruno Henrique, alone, headed over goalkeeper Aguerre, who also made a great save from Arrascaeta's shot.

In the second half, Flamengo came back even better, but came up against the strong Uruguayan marking and the lack of creativity to reach the opponent's goal. Tite moved the sides, which gave Flamengo more speed, however, it had little effect due to a terrible night from Arrascaeta and De la Cruz. As a result, the result did not change and now Flamengo needs to reverse the situation away from home next week.

What now?

With the result, Flamengo will need to win by at least two goals to guarantee one of the places in the Libertadores semi-finals. The match takes place in Uruguay, next Thursday. However, Fla needs to turn the key, because there is a Brazilian Championship game to play on the weekend. Tite's men will face Grêmio, away from home, next Sunday, at 6:30 pm;

David Luiz recently completed three years at Flamengo and does not hide the identification he created with the club during this period. After 14 years in Europe, he defines the current period as one of the best of his career. In an interview with the Copa City Studio podcast, the defender spoke about his relationship with fans and stated that Vini Jr, the Red and Black's creation, could win the Ballon d'Or.

David has 123 games, three goals and two assists since 2021. "It's one of the most beautiful pages of my career after many years in Europe to have the opportunity to return to Brazil and play for Flamengo," he said.

"Flamengo would not be great if there wasn't the Nation, the fans, this love, if the stadium wasn't full every game and everywhere we go. It's a fan base that truly loves, it's living fully, dedicatedly. anything in your life, with this pure feeling, you feel. This whole atmosphere that surrounds Flamengo, is felt. Flamengo moves me, it brings me every day, when I wake up, the desire to fight. , sadness, but it's what moves us. Being part of this is a sign that you're alive, it's a sign that Flamengo makes you live in a different way."

David Luiz on the Copa City Studio podcast< /p>

Created by Ninho do Urubu, Vini Jr is one of the competitors for the Ballon d'Or. David Luiz believes that the young man can take the prize. The winners will be revealed at a ceremony on October 28th.

"[He can win] without a doubt, he's already proven that. Last year was perhaps his best season. He's fighting with all the other greats talents that are now reigning in football."

David was champion of the Libertadores and Copa do Brasil in 2022, as well as Carioca in 2024, but suffered a severe blow in the defeat to Palmeiras in 2021. "In 2021 we lost the Libertadores and for me it was a huge blow. I thought it would be the first time in my career that I would win a title in an "easy" way because I would already reach the icing on the cake, I reached the semi-final. life is nothing easy, we lost. In 2022 we managed to make a huge turnaround in the middle of a tremendous season. It doesn't matter how it starts, it doesn't matter how it ends. Flamengo deserved to be enjoying this era of titles and putting the club where it deserves."

At 37 years old, David Luiz is the oldest in Flamengo's current squad, but he still doesn't think about stopping. He has a contract until the end of this year and is awaiting Fla's wishes to renew. "I want to play as long as I love football. I play for love, that's what moves me. I work to be able to play, but as long as there is love there will be discipline and responsibility."

Flamengo joined Arsenal and Bayern Munich is one of the first Copa City licensed clubs. The football management video game will be released in 2025.