WILL IT BE GOOD? CHECK OUT THE RETROSPECT OF FLAMENGO FACING CORITIBA FOR BRASILERÃO

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;

Tite defined Flamengo and announced the 11 starters who will face Peñarol, this Thursday, at Maracanã, at 7pm. De la Cruz returns to the starting lineup in place of Léo Ortiz, and Alex Sandro and Plata were retained. The duel with the Uruguayans is the first between the teams in the quarter-finals of the Copa Conmebol Libertadores.

The Rubro-negra lineup follows:Rossi, Varela, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira and Alex Sandro; Pulgar, De la Cruz, Gerson and Arrascaeta; Plata and Bruno Henrique.

Alex Sandro and Plata, debutants in last Sunday's classic, remain in the team after having good performances in the draw against Vasco. Gabigol is now out of the relationship due to fibrosis in the posterior muscle of his right thigh. Flamengo, in a statement, reported that the athlete did not suffer any injury in the region. Check it out:

"The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo informs that the athlete Gabriel Barbosa underwent tests that did not diagnose an injury to the posterior muscle of his right thigh. However, the Technical Committee opted for precaution and did not list him for the duel against Peñarol due to fibrosis in the region. Gabi is handed over to physiotherapists and physical trainers for the series of decisive games of the season."