On a night of historic milestones, Flamengo beats Vélez 2-1 and advances to the CONMEBOL Libertadores final
The red-black Nation has a meeting scheduled in Guayaquil, on October 29th, for the grand final of the competition
By Paulo Neto - in
On Wednesday night (7), Flamengo beat Vélez Sarsfield 2-1 at Maracanã and advanced to the Conmebol Libertadores final. With the classification, the Mais Querido reaches the fourth final of the biggest competition on the continent in its history. The third in the last four years!
The red-and-black team fell behind, but with goals from Pedro at the end of the first half and Marinho in the second, they triumphed once again in the competition. The Most Beloved has a 100% record in the CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout stages so far.
With this goal, Pedro became Flamengo's top scorer in a single edition of the Continental Cup, with an incredible 12 goals so far. He surpassed his strike partner Gabi, who scored 11 in 2021, and our King Zico, who scored the same 11 in 1981.
Another milestone achieved today is Everton Ribeiro, who became the player with the most appearances for the Sacred Mantle in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, with 49 appearances. Our captain surpassed Maestro Júnior, who made 48 appearances for Flamengo in the competition.
The game
Flamengo capitalized on its attacking prowess and started the match overwhelmingly. The Mais Querido's first chance of the match came from a run down the right, which ended with a Pedro volley and a Vidal shot blocked.
In the 20th minute, Vélez Sarsfield opened the scoring at Maracanã. Lucas Pratto. 0-1.
The response was immediate. Pedro and Arrascaeta worked down the left, and the Uruguayan's cross deflected the ball over the goal. A corner kick went to Mengão. The goalkeeper kept the ball. Mengão was looking for an equalizer, but after a good move, Cebolinha's shot was blocked, and Arrascaeta then fired over the bar.
After a corner, the ball fell to Arrascaeta at the edge of the box. The Uruguayan shot into the corner, but the opposing goalkeeper made a fine save.
And in the 42nd minute, the red-and-blacks tied the game! Everton Ribeiro had the ball on the left, the night's record-breaker crossed into the box, and Pedro, with great skill, headed it into the back of the net. The reverential striker had practically his back to the goalkeeper, but he knocked it out of the goalkeeper's reach and ran for the win: 1-1.
The teams went to the locker rooms with a partial draw.
Flamengo came out of the break in high spirits, and in the first few minutes of the second half, after Rodinei ran down the right, Arrascaeta had a good chance inside the box, but was blocked when he was about to take a shot. Flamengo then mounted a fine counterattack, which ended with Pedro's shot saved by the opposing goalkeeper.
Pedro finished again, this time hitting the net from the outside. Flamengo was on the verge of a comeback.
And it came! After João Gomes's tackle, Pedro cleared the play with a beautiful ball between the opponent's legs in midfield and found Marinho at the edge of the box. Marinho controlled the ball and finished with great skill to turn the game around: 2-1.
Pablo still had time to put another ball in the back of the net, but the referee flagged offside and disallowed the red-and-black goal. Marinho's stunning goal sealed the match.
With this result, Flamengo is qualified for the final of the Conmebol Libertadores da América, in Guayaguil, on October 29th!
Technical sheet
Flamengo 2 x 1 Vélez Sarsfield - Second leg - CONMEBOL Libertadores Semifinal
Location: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
Date and time: 07/09/2022, at 21:30 pm
Referees: Piero Maza (CHI), Alejandro Molina (CHI), Claudio Urrutia (CHI) and Nicolas Gamboa (CHI)
Yellow cards: Filipe Luís (FLA), Arturo Vidal (FLA), Garayalde (VEL), Mateo Seoane (VEL) and Brizuela (VEL)
Goals: Pratto (20' 1st half), Pedro (42' 1st half) and Marinho (24' 2nd half)
Flamengo lineup:
Santos; Rodinei, Fabricio Bruno, Pablo and Filipe Luis (Ayrton Lucas); João Gomes, Vidal (Pulgar), Everton Ribeiro (Varela) and De Arrascaeta (Diego); Everton Cebolinha (Marinho) and Pedro.
Coach: Dorival Junior
Vélez lineup:
Burián; Jara, De los Santos, Brizuela, Ortega and Cáseres (Mateo Seoane); Garayalde, Florentín (Abiel Osorio) and Orellano (Julián Fernández); Lucas Pratto (Walter Bou) and Janson (Santiago Castro).
Coach: Alexander Medina