In coach Renato Gaúcho's debut, Flamengo beat Defensa y Justicia 1-0 on Wednesday night (14), at the Norberto Tomaghello Stadium, in Buenos Aires-ARG, in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Libertadores. Michael, still in the first half, scored a great goal that ended up sealing the victory for Flamengo. With the result, Mengão will play with the advantage of a draw in the return match, at the Maracanã.  

The game
The match began with Flamengo exchanging passes in the attacking half. The Defensa team also pushed forward, and quickly regrouped in defense, making it difficult for Flamengo to build attacks from the back.

At 20 minutes, Flamengo opened the scoring with a fantastic goal from Michael! The striker received the ball on the left, cut inside and shot. The ball deflected off the defense and went into the top left corner of the goal: 1-0. The first half ended with Flamengo in the lead.

In the second half, Defensa returned pressing Flamengo's build-up play, which was having difficulty transitioning from defense to attack. In the 15th minute, after a quick counter-attack, Gabigol got the ball and passed to João Gomes, who shot from the edge of the area, but the goalkeeper made the save.

In a great counter-attack in the 23rd minute, Arrascaeta launched Gabigol on a run, who entered the area and shot across goal. Unsain made the save with his foot. In the final stretch of the game, Flamengo managed to hold onto their lead and left the field with a very important victory in Argentina.

Next appointment
Flamengo returns to the field next Sunday (18) to face Bahia, at 18:15 pm, in Pituaçu-BA. The match is valid for the 12th round of the Brasileirão.

Flamengo lineup
Diego Alves; Isla (Matheuzinho), Gustavo Henrique, Léo Pereira and Filipe Luís; João Gomes, Thiago Maia (Piris da Motta), Everton Ribeiro (Pedro) and Arrascaeta (Bruno Viana); Michael (Vitinho) and Gabi.
Coach: Renato Gaucho.

Defensa y Justicia lineup
Unsain; Frías, Juan Rodríguez and Cardona; Matías Rodríguez, Loaiza, Escalante, Rotondi (Merentiel) and Soto; Walter Bou (Lucas Barrios) and Contreras (Hachen).
Coach: Sebastiám Beccacece.

Technical sheet
Defensa y Justicia 0x1 Flamengo – First leg of the Libertadores Round of 16
Location: Norberto Tomaghello Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date: 14 / 07 / 2021
Referee: Eber Aquino (PAR)
Assistants: Eduardo Cardozo (PAR) and Johnny Bossio (PER)
Yellow cards: Hugo Moura (FLA), Gustavo Henrique (FLA), Contreras (DYJ), Escalante (DYJ) and Piris da Motta (FLA)
Goals: Michael (20'1st half).

Check out the behind-the-scenes footage of the victory on FlaTV: