CALLED FOR SELECTION! FABRICIO BRUNO AND CALLED BY FORMER FLAMENGO COACH DORIVAL JR

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;

The Flamengo was fined by Conmebol due to incidents with his fans during the match against Bolívar, held on August 15, at Maracanã, in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores. The 2-0 victory guaranteed a good result for the club, but inappropriate behavior from the fans, such as the use of flares and other pyrotechnic objects, resulted in financial sanctions for the Rio team.

The club was punished based on in article 12.2 c) of the Conmebol Disciplinary Code, which prohibits the use of flares, fireworks or any type of pyrotechnics in stadiums. Furthermore, Flamengo was included in article 27, which provides for more severe penalties for clubs that repeat infractions of this nature. This is not the first incident of its kind involving Flamengo fans, which contributed to the decision to impose a significant fine.

The value The total fine was set at US$20,000 (equivalent to R$110,400). Furthermore, Conmebol ordered Flamengo to pay an additional US$13,300 (around R$73,600) to cover expenses related to hospitality space during the game, a responsibility that, according to article 4.2.13 of the Libertadores Club Manual, is from the home club.

These infractions are considered serious, especially in international tournaments such as the Libertadores, where Conmebol adopts a strict stance to guarantee security and order in the stadiums. The recurrence of Flamengo in this This type of behavior can be seen as an aggravating factor in the decision of judge Amarílis Belisario, vice-president of the Conmebol Disciplinary Commission.