Clear leaders, 16 straight wins: meet Del Valle, old foes of Flamengo | OneFootball

Independiente del Valle punched its ticket to the Libertadores quarterfinals and will face Flamengo

The Copa Libertadores quarterfinal bracket is set! Flamengo will take on Independiente del Valle (ECU), who knocked out Deportes Tolima (COL) on Tuesday (25) with a 3-1 win. The Ecuadorians are enjoying a spectacular run this year, with 16 straight wins and the lead in the Ecuadorian league with six rounds to spare.

Independiente del Valle are only not runaway champions of Ecuador because of the competition format. The tournament includes a hexagonal stage to determine the winner. Even so, the team’s status as title favorite is obvious: a 23-point lead over second-place Aucas (ECU), with 22 wins, one draw, and three losses in the league.

Another statistic stands out: across all competitions, Del Valle have a 100% record over their last 16 matches! The last game that did not end in a win for the team was on May 22, a 3-2 home loss to Libertad (ECU) in the Ecuadorian Championship.

In the Libertadores, their campaign has also been eye-catching. They finished first in Group H, which included Di Maria’s Rosario Central (ARG). Del Valle lost just one match, winning four and drawing one, advancing with 13 points. In other words, one of the best campaigns in the tournament.

WHICH FAMILIAR NAMES DOES DEL VALLE HAVE?

Del Valle currently have three players who are quite well known in Brazilian football. The main one is Junior Sornoza, formerly of Fluminense and Corinthians. Another is Juan Cazares, formerly of Fluminense and Atlético-MG. He, however, is certain to miss the matches against Flamengo, as he tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee. The last is Jhegson Méndez, a defensive midfielder formerly of São Paulo.

The standout players in the current squad are 33-year-old center forward Charli González. The player has scored 14 goals this year, six of them in the Copa Libertadores. Another player Flamengo need to keep an eye on is 22-year-old left winger Emerson Pata, who has found the net eight times.

WHEN WILL FLAMENGO VS DEL VALLE BE?

Flamengo and Del Valle will face each other in the second and third weeks of September. The first leg will take place at Quito’s altitude, 2,850 meters above sea level, at Estadio Banco Guayaquil, between 09/08 and 09/10. The return leg, at the Maracanã, will be scheduled between the 15th and 17th of the same month.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION?

— When Flamengo got past Cruzeiro, there was a feeling that ‘the hardest part was already over.’ But the clashes with Del Valle promise to be extremely tough because of the team’s good form and Quito’s altitude. That’s why it’s important for Mengo not to sell Gonzalo Plata right now, since he came through the Ecuadorian club and knows the altitude well. He could make the difference in these matchups —, opined Pedro Paulo Catonho, journalist at Coluna do Fla.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.