De La Cruz has an injury and is expected to return to Flamengo

The Peñarol (URU) team was excited from the beginning of the trip to Rio de Janeiro, where they will face Flamengo, in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores. In addition to cheering the players on the flight towards the 'Marvelous City', the Uruguayans posted a montage of Christ the Redeemer with the club's flag.

As soon as they landed on Rio de Janeiro soil, the Uruguayan club published an image of a of the city's main tourist attractions. In addition to the photo, the team wrote the following message: “Peñarol em Rio”, alluding to Rock In Rio. Afterwards, a video showing the arrival of the athletes at Galeão Airport was also published.

Peñarol reached the quarterfinals of the Libertadores after beating The Strongest (BOL) in the round of 16. In the first game, the Uruguayan team defeated their opponent 4-0. On the way back, the Bolivian team even won by a score of 1-0, however, it was not enough to take away the classification of Diego Aguirre's men.

Before the game against Flamengo, Peñarol played in the Championship Uruguayan. On Saturday (14), Rubro-Negro's opponent beat Rampla (URU), by a score of 4 to 0. Given this situation, they remained undefeated in the national tournament.

Flamengo is coming off a bitter draw with Vasco on Sunday (15), however, they will have reinforcements for this Thursday's duel (19). Recovered from a thigh injury, De La Cruz is back in the team. In addition to the Uruguayan, Alex Sandro, Alcaraz and Gonzalo Plata were registered in the competition and, as a result, will be included in the clash.

Last Tuesday, the candidate for re-election for mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, denied the journalist Ancelmo Gois, from Globo. In a post on Instagram, the mayor informed that the city hall will be responsible for removing the megastructure on the gas meter site, different from what was reported. Furthermore, he guaranteed that Flamengo will have its new stadium, with the best conditions and security.

The news published by Ancelmo informs that Flamengo would have to pay R$100 million to remove a large gas structure present on land acquired by the club, which is owned by CEG and CEG-Rio, which are companies that are part of the gas concessionaire Naturgy.

According to the article, the companies were informed that Flamengo is the responsible for bearing the expenses, as provided for in one of the annexes to the land purchase and transfer contract. The clause, however, does not have a specified limit.

Paes stated that the values ​​for the transfer of the structure are different from what was pointed out in the article by Ancelmo Gois. Furthermore, it exempted Flamengo from any responsibility, and that the city hall has been planning to remove it for years.

“They are making me defend @flamengo more than I would like: let it be clear that this is not the The cost of this transfer and when it happens will be the responsibility of the city of Rio, which knows that this structure cannot be in an area that is already receiving so many residential buildings. It's been in our plans for a long time! Flamengo will have its new stadium there in the gasometer with all the quality and safety that the region demands and deserves. Period!”, published the mayor.

This Monday (16), Flamengo officially informed Luiz Araújo's injury, which occurred in the classic against Vasco last Sunday (15). The striker was injured and, after examinations, the club's medical department confirmed the severity of the injury. With this, the player is out of the important clash against Peñarol in the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores.

Mengão returns to the field this Thursday (19), at 7pm, at Maracanã, to face Peñarol in the first game of the Libertadores quarter-finals. The Brazilian team is looking for a good result at home to take advantage in the second leg, which will be played at the Campeón del Siglo Stadium, in Montevideo, on September 26th.

For the match against Peñarol, the coach will count on the return of De la Cruz, recovered from injury, and the return of Ayrton Lucas to the left side. Furthermore, Gonzalo Plata will be Luiz Araújo's replacement in the attack, seeking to strengthen the red and black offensive.

Mais Querido's probable lineup for the decisive clash should include: Rossi; Varela, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick Pulgar, De La Cruz and Gerson; Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique and Gonzalo Plata. The team is going through adjustments, but the intention is to guarantee a positive result at home to reach the return game in Uruguay more calmly.

Despite the fans' expectations, the recent history between Flamengo and Peñarol does not favor Rubro-Negro. The teams have already faced each other six times, with four victories for the Uruguayans, one draw and only one victory for Mengão. The last meeting was in the 2019 Libertadores group stage, when Flamengo lost 1-0 at Maracanã and drew goalless in Montevideo.