2-1: Flamengo, enter the round of 16 as undefeated leaders

Ang flamingo The Brazilian won on Tuesday 2-1 to Sporting Crystalqualify for round 16 of Libertadores Cup as the undefeated leader of Group H, where they signed the second best campaign in the tournament, and left the Peruvian team in last place and without consolation to go to South American.

The Rio de Janeiro club, thanks to its own goal from Madrid and a goal from Pedro, finished the group stage with 16 points (five wins and a draw), temporarily trailing only champion Palmeiras (18). among the clubs with the best campaigns. in Libertadores, an area that provides advantages and from which it can only be removed by the Argentine River Plate.

Flamengo finished with a 5 -point advantage against Argentinian Talleres de Córdoba (11), who also qualified for the Libertadores round of 16, and 12 against Universidad Católica (4), who, as third, qualified for the round of 16 of the Copa South American. Sporting, now reduced by Christofer Gonzales, finished last, with 2 points.

Despite playing at half -speed and having an alternative team, Brazil’s most popular club not only confirmed its great campaign but also raised it to 15 the number of games it has surpassed without losing to Libertadores, who play at the Maracaná stadium. in Rio de Janeiro, where he scored 41 goals.

The Rio de Janeiro team, despite the fact that they did not line up offensive starters like Uruguayan Giorgian de Arrascaeta or Éverton Ribeiro and Bruno Henrique, started to press from the first minute with a strong trio of attackers who composed of Gabriel Barbosa ‘Gabigol’, Marinho and the young Pedro.

Gabigol had his first chance to score in minute 3, when he received inside the area but sent a ball that Pedro touched over the crossbar after a game initiated by Marinho. The three attacking teams of the Rio de Janeiro team immediately took over the offensive games supported by Lázaro and Joao Gomes.

Sporting Cristal, on their first arrival, narrowly opened the scoring when, in a counterattack, Loyola dodged Chilean winger Mauricio Isla but shot wide into Hugo’s goal.

Despite pressure from locals, the Peruvian team also had a good chance, including one where Christofer Gonzales was able to shoot inside the area but without force. Flamengo responded with a shot from Marinho that pushed goalkeeper Alejandro Duarte to show off to avoid the Brazilians ’goal.

Pressure from the local team paid off in the 29th minute when Chilean Isla, after receiving a long pass from David Luiz, was able to put the ball between Duarte’s legs which Madrid was able to handle before it entered the goal. , including recorded. as one’s own purpose.

In the final minutes of the first half, the young Lázaro wasted two clear scoring chances to leave Flamengo with a huge advantage before entering the break.

The Brazilian team continued to press in the second half, although the accelerator was not stepped on, and Pedro was narrowly able to extend the score in the 6th minute. David Luiz also missed a header in the 12th minute and Duarte saved a shot from Lázaro in the 13th. But Sporting’s most dangerous move was missed in the 17th minute when Gonzales received a ball from Lora. and he could not identify face to face and only against Hugo.

Changes to avoid local passivity

The team’s passivity led Flamengo coach, Portuguese Paulo Sousa, to advance three changes to increase offensive power, with the entry of Bruno Henrique and Andreas Pereira.

The changes came soon after, in the 28th minute, when Pedro headed in a ball lifted by Andreas Pereira after drawing a free kick to increase the advantage to 2-0. In the 31st minute David Luiz dropped the ball to the crossbar after a corner kick taken by Andreas Pereira and narrowly scored a third for the locals.

Flamengo attacked in the final minutes to try to score goals against the 38,100 fans present at the Maracana, but the Peruvian team took advantage of the carelessness of the Brazilian defense and cut three minutes from the end by Gonzales and a new Hugo mistake, which ended boo.