Flamengo will face Palestino 500km from Santiago in the Libertadores, confirms president of Conmebol; Find out why!

Palestino x Flamengo: controversial venue change

The defeat to Bolívar, in La Paz, last Wednesday (24), raised a warning signal for the Flamengo in the Libertadores dispute. After three Group E games, the team led by Tite has just four points.

The distance to the Bolivians is five points, although Mengão still has two of the three remaining duels in the bracket at Maracanã. On May 7th, the red and black team will go to Chile to face Palestino.

However, the location of the match caused controversy in the nation. Sector Fred Gomes, from Globo Esporte, confirmed that the Palestino will host Mengão in Coquimbo, almost 500km from Santiago, capital of Chile. The decision was confirmed by Alejandro Domínguez, president of Conmebol.

Why is Flamengo playing in Coquimbo?

According to Globo Esporte, Palestino and Flamengo will face each other at the Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso Stadium, with a capacity for 18 thousand fans. The city of Coquimbo, close to the Pacific Ocean, has an airport and the CRF delegation has already arranged a direct flight to the location of the duel.

Palestino played its first three matches of Libertadores 2024 – two in the preliminary phase – at the El Teniente Stadium, in Rancágua, a city 90km from Santiago. The club even indicated El Teniente and the National Stadium as possible venues.

The two stadiums, however, were vetoed by Conmebol due to the quality of the pitch., reported the channel ‘Paparazzo Rubro-Negro’. By the way, Palestino will host Millonarios, soon, at 9pm (Brasília time), in Coquimbo.

Situation of the Flamengo group in the Libertadores

If Millonarios wins Palestino by two goals, Flamengo will fall to third place in the group. If the Chileans win, Rubro-Negro will remain in second place. A draw is the ideal scenario for Tite’s team.