With a trio of Brazilians, Cerro Porteo hosts Fluminense in the Libertadores :: ogol.com.br

Cerro Porteño welcomes Fluminense to the Libertadores with one objective: to beat their rival for the first time. A retrospective that Tricolor Carioca intends to defend diligently, in a turbulent week, after the departure of four names from the squad due to indiscipline.

With a well-known trio in Brazil, Cerro will not make it easy for the Laranjeiras club. Edu and Eduardo Brock, players who played for Cruzeiro, as well as goalkeeper Jean, who played for São Paulo previously, are part of the squad. The Paraguayan focus is to win one more time, overcome the negative record against the Cariocas and achieve the fifth consecutive victory of the season.

In defense of the title

Fluminense entered the current season’s Libertadores to defend the belt. Fernando Diniz’s men want to maintain their unbeaten record, win their second in the tournament and advance to the round of 16 of the competition.

However, recent days in Laranjeiras have been turbulent. Tricolor removed four of Xerém’s children due to acts of indiscipline: Alexsander, Arthur, Kauã Elias and the scorer of the Libertadores title goal, John Kennedy, are separated from the professional squad until further notice.

Fluminense’s current season doesn’t excite fans much. Between elimination in the semi-finals of Carioca and a “troubled” start to the Brasileirão, the Rio club has a negative record: it has now been five consecutive matches without winning away from home.

But at home, it’s a different story. Tricolor Carioca has eleven home games in the current season, with seven wins, two draws and two defeats. The negative results were, precisely, against rivals Botafogo and Flamengo.

Three old acquaintances

Cerro Porteño continues to dominate in Paraguay. In 16 matches in 2024, the Pueblo Club they lost just three, drew five and won eight and, now, they want to achieve their fifth consecutive victory in the current season.

With three old acquaintances of Brazilian fans in the club’s starting 11, Cerro wants to qualify for the Libertadores knockout stage again after a year of absence. In 2023, the team started in the preliminary phase, but stopped in the groups, when they had Bolívar, Emelec and Palmeiras alongside.

The trio of Brazilians had a modest season wearing the Paraguayan club’s shirt. In fifteen matches in the Paraguayan goal, Jean conceded ten goals, while Eduardo Brock, in turn, started six times and should be present in this Thursday’s game (25). Finally, striker Edu still hasn’t started: in seven games, he scored just one goal and contributed one assist.

Absolute Paternity of Flu

The teams have faced each other on only four occasions in history. And, in all clashes, Fluminense has never lost against Cerro Porteño, whether in Paraguay or Brazil.

The clubs have already played against each other in the 2021 Libertadores and the 2009 Copa Sudamericana. In the last opportunity, Tricolor Carioca eliminated the Paraguayans in the round of 16 of the competition, but stopped in the next phase, against Barcelona.

The objective of Rio de Janeiro is to maintain absolute control over foreigners. But, with the three Brazilians who already know the Rio club, Cerro Porteño’s focus is, once and for all, to put an end to this story.