Peñarol coach reveals whether he will preserve the squad before facing Flamengo in the Libertadores

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 starts a new week with a focus on the Libertadores da América. On Thursday (19), Mengão will face Peñarol in the opening of the quarter-finals, at 9:30 pm, at Maracanã. Expectations are high on the Uruguayan side as well. After a 4-0 thrashing over Rampla Juniors on Saturday, coach Diego Aguirre commented on his team's moment and indicated who the starting lineup will be.

Aguirre mentioned the lack of pace of play due to the reduced number of matches recently. The team spent 15 days without playing between August 21st and September 7th due to mourning the death of Juan Izquierdo and another seven days until this Saturday's rout. Therefore, Peñarol arrives to face Flamengo with just two games in the last 30 days. Despite this, the coach valued the time to train the team.

The coach also spoke about a possible absence of Leonardo Fernández in the clash against Flamengo, as the striker appeared to be in pain during the match against Rampla Juniors. However, Aguirre hinted that the starter will be available, although he praised the squad as a whole.

Diego Aguirre was asked about possible changes in the starting lineup for the duel against Flamengo. He stated that he does not intend to make major changes to the team that has performed well, having won the last two games. Therefore, Peñarol should start the match with the preferred 4-4-2 formation.

The Uruguayan team tends to have less ball possession in the Libertadores, with an average of 44.5%, but has a quality midfield and fast players on the sides to supply the attackers when they recover the ball. Léo Fernández is the competition's assist leader, with three, and Maximiliano Silvera is the top scorer, with five goals.

Peñarol's probable lineup for the game against Flamengo is: Washington Aguerre; Pedro Milans, Javier Méndez, Guzmán Rodríguez and Maximiliano Oliveira; Javier Cabrera, Damián García, Eduardo Darías and Jaime Báez; Leonardo Fernández and Maximiliano Silveira.

It is worth noting that Aguirre has already used a tactical variation away from home in the Libertadores. Against The Strongest, for example, he adopted a 5-4-1 formation to face the altitude of La Paz. On that occasion, Jaime Báez was replaced by another defender, Léo Coelho. Furthermore, Gastón Ramírez, the experienced Uruguayan midfielder, comes into practically every game from the bench.