Flamengo thrash Estudiantes de Mérida, lead U-20 Liberta group

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·8 March 2026

Flamengo thrash Estudiantes de Mérida, lead U-20 Liberta group

In the U-20 Libertadores, Flamengo thrashed Estudiantes de Mérida from Venezuela, 4-1, on Saturday night at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa. With the result, the team from Rio – current two-time champions of the tournament – takes the lead in Group A.

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Standings Situation

With three points, the same amount as Independiente Medellín, Flamengo appears in first place due to tiebreaker criteria. Estudiantes, on the other hand, is in the last position with zero points. The leaders of each group and the best runner-up advance to the semifinals.

📋 Match Summary

🔴⚫ FLAMENGO 4 x 1 ESTUDIANTES DE MÉRIDA 🔵⚪

🏆 Competition: U-20 Libertadores | 1st round 🏟️ Venue: Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, in Quito (EQU) 📅 Date: March 7, 2026 (Saturday) ⏰ Time: 9 PM (Brasília time)

Goals

⚽ Da Mata, at 16′ of the 1st half (Flamengo)
⚽ Néstor Zambrano, at 19′ of the 1st half (Estudiantes de Mérida)
⚽ Ryan Roberto, at 46′ of the 1st half (Flamengo)
⚽ Alan Santos, at 13′ of the 2nd half (Flamengo)
⚽ Pablo Lúcio, at 48′ of the 2nd half (Flamengo)

How the Game Went

Flamengo opened the scoring 16 minutes into the game. Alan Santos took a corner, and Da Mata rose above everyone to head the ball into the net. However, three minutes later, Zambrano controlled the ball on the right, dribbled past two defenders, and shot into the top corner to equalize.

In the last play of the first half, Flamengo regained the lead. At 46, Ryan Roberto received the ball on the left wing, cut inside, and curled a beautiful shot into the goal.

At the 13-minute mark of the second half, Alan Santos was played in deep, but the pass was too strong. Goalkeeper Moreno slid out, the ball deflected off Giménez, and fell to the feet of the number 7, who simply tapped it into the empty net to score Flamengo's third. At 48, Pablo Lúcio chipped the Venezuelan team's goalkeeper to seal the rout.