EVERTON CEBOLINHA LINKS TIREDNESS TO FLAMENGO'S DROP IN PERFORMANCE IN THE SECOND HALF AGAINST FLUMINENSE

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 injury to Everton Cebolinha took the striker out of the season. However, the six-month recovery time could be shortened, and he could return to action in December. The main competitions will have already ended, but the athlete will be able to return to do pre-season at the beginning of the year easily.

This is because Everton Cebolinha has made great progress in treating his injury. According to journalist Venê Casagrande, the recovery from the Achilles tendon rupture, which occurred on August 11, has been so quick that the player could be released at the end of the year.

Progression is quickly, and Cebolinha should be released by the Medical Department ahead of schedule, which would be in mid-February. However, it is unlikely that Cebolinha will play in 2024 and should only return next year, as he will no longer need to bring forward his return with the competitions already decided.

The Brasileirão ends at the beginning of the month of December, and at most, Cebolinha would have three rounds to play until the 8th, against Internacional, Criciúma and Vitória.

In addition of Everton Cebolinha, the club has other problems. Left-back Matías Viña and center forward Pedro will also only return in 2025, missing the final stretch of the 2024 season. Furthermore, the team has other problems.

Luiz Araújo and Michael join the Medical Department, but they're still coming back this year. However, for the final part of the season, missing important games in the Libertadores and Copa do Brasil, for example.

For Flamengo x Peñarol, in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores, at Maracanã, Tite also has Gabigol as a casualty, spared after feeling pain against Vasco. The game takes place this Thursday (19th), at 7pm (Brasília time).