Coluna do Fla
·28 May 2026
Ex-Fluminense scores, Di Maria's side lose, Flamengo near top seed

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Yahoo sportsColuna do Fla
·28 May 2026

Flamengo is very close to having the best campaign of the Libertadores group stage. That is because, this Wednesday (27), Independiente Del Valle (ECU) beat Rosario Central (ARG) 1-0 in the final round. As a result, the Argentinians remained on 13 points and can no longer catch Mengão’s 16.
See the overall standings for the Libertadores group stage:
The first half had few exciting moments at Banco Guayaquil Stadium in Ecuador. The biggest tension came on the way to halftime, when Di Maria and Sornoza clashed. Then, Brazilian referee Raphael Claus showed a yellow card to the Argentine idol and the former Fluminense player.
In the second half, the Ecuadorian goal seemed only a matter of time. Then, in the 16th minute of the half, Fernández brought down Romero in the box, and Claus awarded a penalty to Del Valle. Sornoza converted it for the game’s only goal.
Rosario Central’s draw means Flamengo now depends only on the result between Independiente Rivadavia (ARG) and Bolívar (BOL). However, only an Argentine win by six goals or more would take Fla out of the top spot in this edition.
Conmebol chose Friday (29) to hold the draw for the Round of 16 matchups. The first-leg matches will take place between August 11 and 13. The second legs will be held between the 18th and 20th of the same month.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.







































