Flamengo faced a great opportunity to start their journey in the Libertadores with a victory, however, they failed to maintain their advantage on the scoreboard against Millonarios.
In the second half, after a foul committed on Arrascaeta inside the area, which resulted in Vásquez being sent off, Pedro converted the penalty in the 18th minute, opening the scoring. Despite the numerical advantage, the team was unable to capitalize on its position.
Millonarios took advantage of the opportunity and managed to equalize the score with a goal from Ruiz in the 34th minute, after a well-executed play by Rivaldo, who exploited a mistake by Pulgar. The final result was a 1-1 draw at the El Campín Stadium in Bogotá.
Mengão will have a new chance to shine in the Libertadores next Wednesday (10th), when they face Palestino at Maracanã. Before that, at the same stadium, the team will compete in the final of the Campeonato Carioca on Sunday, at 5pm, against Nova Iguaçu, with the advantage of having won the first game 3-0.
After a long period without conceding goals, goalkeeper Rossi was finally conceded, ending a sequence of 1,134 minutes without being conceded. This was the first goal conceded by Flamengo this season under Tite’s command.
Pedro, once again, left his mark, scoring his 12th goal in 12 official games this season. The striker is the top scorer in the Campeonato Carioca, with 11 goals, and scored two more during the pre-season in friendlies in the United States.
Despite Pedro’s impressive statistics, Flamengo’s overall performance fell short of expectations, even in a game played at Bogotá’s 2,600m altitude.
Coach Tite opted for some changes to the team, including the addition of Bruno Henrique, David Luiz and Viña in place of Luiz Araújo, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas, respectively. Furthermore, the team suffered from the absence of De La Cruz, who had a fever, and was replaced by Igor Jesus.
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Tags: Millonarios Flamengo LIVE
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