Another "headache" Flamengo has problems with aerial balls more and more this season

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.

Flamengo has had a very clear weak point for some time. The team coached by Tite has been suffering from aerial plays, whether through set pieces or rolling, since the beginning of the Brazilian Championship. In a survey by 'GE', until the 22nd round of the Brasileirão, the red and black team was in fourth place among the teams that conceded the most goals from high crosses.

This lower performance was accentuated after the last two matches of the More Honey. In the duels against Botafogo and Bolívar, two goals in very similar plays occurred against the goal defended by goalkeeper Rossi. Against the black and white team, a cross from the back of full-back Ayrton Lucas found Mateo Ponte free to head the ball. In Bolivia, in the same play, Bruno Sávio was the one who scored for the home team.

“Man, we are aware that we need to improve in this regard, we conceded a very similar goal against Botafogo, it's adjustment issue. It's complicated because you come to play here, and the move itself, we end up kind of complaining about a questionable move against Nico (De la Cruz). And then the guy dominates a ball, comes from the opposite foot and plays it on the second stick. The guys also work on this, and there is also the altitude at which the ball travels. So it’s about being calm, patient, the most important thing of all is qualifying so we can have peace of mind to work”, declared Fabrício Bruno as he left the Hernando Siles stadium, in Bolivia.

Goalkeeper Rossi was asked about the goals in the Libertadores post-game press conference. The archer defended his teammate Ayrton Lucas and stated that Flamengo has its flaws, but that its rivals do too, and that goals conceded are not always red-and-black failures, but that there are merits from the opponent.

“ We have a team in front of us that knows the weaknesses we have. Not only do we have weaknesses, but the other team does too. And it's not that he suffers on the backs of the full-backs due to weaknesses, the rival also plays, analyzes, is intelligent and has a high level. Today we play the Libertadores, which is the most important competition in America. We know that we conceded a goal behind our backs against Botafogo the other day, today too, but it's not possible with four or five players to cover 60 meters. It's very difficult. Today (Thursday) the ball is also faster (at altitude). And we were one player down because at that moment Nico (De la Cruz) had fallen in the area, he said it was a penalty. So I think it's not a thing about weaknesses or suffering, it's a thing about improving and continuing to improve”, pointed out the Argentine.

Despite the weaknesses, Flamengo is the only team in the G-4 of the Brasileirão that remains alive in three competitions and has a chance of becoming champion in all of them. The red-black team is now focusing its efforts on the match this Sunday (25th) at 8pm (Brasília time) against Red Bull Bragantino. The game will be at Maracanã and could mark the debut of attacker Michael by the red-black, who is related to the duel. Coach Tite recovers after atrial fibrillation and will not be on the edge of the field. Matheus Bacchi, the coach's son, is the one who will be in charge of the technical committee.