Filipe Luís admits that Arrascaeta was missed by Flamengo in the Libertadores

Flamengo completely dominated the first half, but showed a drop in performance in the second half in the 1-0 victory over Internacional , this Wednesday (13), at Maracanã, in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Libertadores . For coach Filipe Luís, the explanation is simple: individual technical errors.

Filipe Luís on Flamengo's second half: "We didn't come back different, but Inter came back"

"The first half was excellent. The game plan worked perfectly, and we had plenty of scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we only scored one goal and maintained our lead. We didn't come back any different, but Inter did. I believe a lot of it was due to individual technical errors, which took away our dominance and control ," the coach assessed.

Filipe explained that the mistakes caused the team to become disorganized and open up more than necessary: "These errors forced us to run more, to transition, and to leave the team spaced out. Every time we recovered the ball, we were extremely defensive , lacking the patience to establish our structure . We couldn't reorganize, and this dragged on until the end. Even so, we created clear scoring chances," he added.

Despite the drop in performance, the coach emphasized that the opponent barely threatened and that the advantage, although minimal, keeps the tie open: " Inter didn't create any chances, we had more . We went 1-0 up and we're going with that small advantage. Nothing is decided; it's completely open. We're going into the second leg to win," he concluded.

HOW WAS THE GAME?

Flamengo suffocated Internacional in the first half, opening the scoring in the 27th minute when Bruno Henrique headed in a corner kick from Luiz Araújo . The lead could have been greater, as the team had eight shots before halftime. In the second half, that number dropped to just two shots.

NEXT APPOINTMENT

Before the return of the Libertadores, Flamengo and Internacional meet again in the Brasileirão. The duel takes place this Sunday (17), at 6:30 pm (Brasília time) , at Beira-Rio, in Porto Alegre, for the 20th round. Mengão is the leader of the competition with 40 points. Colorado is in 11th place.

Right-back Emerson Royal left the field early in the duel between Flamengo and Internacional , this Wednesday (13), valid for the first leg of the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores. According to the club's official statement, the number 22 suffered a sprain in his left ankle at the beginning of the first half and was replaced at half-time by Guillermo Varela.

Emerson Royal says he asked to return for Flamengo vs Internacional: "my performance would have dropped even further"

The injury occurred 25 minutes into the first half, after a challenge with an Internacional player, with the score still tied. Royal fell to the pitch in pain, received medical attention, but remained on the field until the final whistle of the first half . After the game, the full-back revealed that he even asked for an injection to stay on, but it was not granted.

" I asked him, please, do something, because I want to try to help Flamengo in the second half, but we decided not to return because as the game progressed, my performance would decline even further. At the beginning of the game, I was fine, but then, as time went on, the pain began to increase and began to limit me a lot, especially when changing direction, sprinting, and jumping, it also hurt a lot," said Royal.

THE GOAL OF THE MATCH

Flamengo's pressure paid off in the 27th minute. Luiz Araújo took a precise corner kick and found Bruno Henrique unmarked in the box . The striker headed the ball firmly, leaving Rochet no chance, opening the scoring at the Maracanã and giving Flamengo the lead in the Libertadores.

NEXT APPOINTMENT

Before the return leg of the Libertadores, Flamengo and Internacional will face each other again, but this time for the Brazilian Championship . The match will be this Sunday (17), at 6:30 pm (Brasília time), at Beira-Rio. Mengão is the leader of the Brasileirão with 40 points, three more than Cruzeiro, in second place, and with one game less than the team from Minas Gerais.

Flamengo beat Internacional 1-0 this Wednesday (13) , at Maracanã, and started with an advantage in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores. Despite the positive result, striker Bruno Henrique assessed that the team lost performance in the second half and explained the reasons for the drop in intensity.

" In the second half, for the first 15 minutes , we want to score right away, and it ends up deviating a bit from what we planned at halftime. We end up being a bit exposed, and the opposing team scores a lot in the first half. In the second half, they have to open up to try to score," said the number 27.

"That's what happened against Internacional. They scored the whole time in the first half. We had more possession, more shots, and more through balls. We took possession in the first half, and in the second half, because we wanted to score quickly , we ended up opening up a bit. It's an area we have to improve on. Jorginho just told me that, so we have to try to improve even more in the first 15 minutes of the second half," he added.

STATISTICS SHOW DOMINANCE

The numbers back up the striker's assessment. In the first half, Flamengo largely controlled possession, registering 73% of the ball and eight shots on goal. In the second half, possession dropped to 59%, and the Rio de Janeiro team managed just two shots, compared to the Rio Grande do Sul club's four attempts.

Game sequence

With the victory, the red-black team needs only a draw in the second leg to guarantee a place in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores. The decisive match will be next Wednesday (20), at the Beira-Rio Stadium, in Porto Alegre . Before that, the teams will face each other again next Sunday (17), for the Brazilian Championship, again in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, at 6:30 pm (Brasília time).