Grit! Flamengo play poorly, nick late draw, reach Libertadores semis | OneFootball

Arrascaeta scored the goal that saved Flamengo in the Libertadores

PHEW! Flamengo are in the Libertadores semifinal. Despite a terrible performance and with Jorginho sent off in the second half, the Rubro-Negro fought back for a 1-1 draw with Independiente del Valle (ECU) at the Maracanã. Since they had won 2-0 in the altitude of Quito, the Mengão moves on in the competition.

Now, the next opponent will be Estudiantes (ARG), in mid-October, on dates and times to be announced by Conmebol in the coming days. On the other side of the bracket are Fluminense and Palmeiras. In other words, if Flamengo reaches the final, they will face another Brazilian team.

HOW WAS THE FIRST HALF?

Independiente del Valle went all or nothing from the start. As a result, they left spaces open. The first came in the 13th minute, when Lucas Paquetá played a beautiful long ball to Bruno Henrique. Completely unmarked, number 27 lost time in his run because of the awful state of the pitch. Even so, the forward got his shot away, and the goalkeeper saved it with his foot.

The visitors started the game well and had the Flamengo fans on edge. In the 21st minute, Emerson Pata received a cross with some freedom, one-on-one with Rossi, but mishit the ball and sent it wide. Del Valle’s dominance paid off in the 30th minute.

Léo Pereira made a completely wrong challenge in midfield and gave away space. Then Independiente del Valle broke forward quickly through Perelló. Ayrton Lucas even got ahead in the race, but went down. Then the opposing winger reached the byline and delivered a cross, Rossi intercepted it, but the ball fell kindly for Djorkaeff Reasco, who opened the scoring.

Very nervous, Flamengo made far too many mistakes. Players like Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira and Jorginho, for example, wasted chances in unusual situations. On the other hand, Del Valle abandoned its aggressive approach, dropped deeper and relied on the counterattack, which ultimately did not come off in the closing moments.

HOW WAS THE SECOND HALF?

The second half began tense, with Flamengo still getting everything wrong. Lucas Paquetá was by far the worst player on the pitch. In fact, the midfielder ran the risk of being sent off after hitting an opponent in the face with his arm. However, the referee gave him a yellow card early in the second half.

With Flamengo playing badly, Leonardo Jardim made two changes in the 13th minute. Paquetá and Carrascal went off, Arrascaeta and Gonzalo Plata came on. In the 20th minute, what was already bad for the Rubro-Negro got even worse: Jorginho received his second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Flamengo a man down.

In the 33rd minute, Del Valle even found the net, but Flamengo were saved by an offside call. When it looked like the Ecuadorians’ second goal was only a matter of time, a miracle happened: FLAMENGO EQUALIZED! Agustín Rossi launched a long ball forward, goalkeeper Quintana made a huge mistake, let the ball bounce and was chipped. Alert, Arrascaeta tapped it into the net and made it all square.

WHEN IS FLAMENGO’S NEXT MATCH?

In short, Flamengo return to the pitch this Sunday (20), this time in the Brasileirão. Their opponent will be Bragantino, in the 28th round. Kickoff is at 6:30 pm (Brasília time) at the Maracanã, with full coverage from Coluna do Fla.

MATCH SUMMARYFLAMENGO 1-1 INDEPENDIENTE DEL VALLECompetition: Copa Libertadores da América, quarterfinals, second legVenue: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de JaneiroDate: September 17, 2026Goals: Reasco 30’/1st half, Arrascaeta 39’/2nd half

Flamengo: Agustín Rossi, Emerson Royal, Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick Pulgar, Jorginho and Lucas Paquetá; Jorge Carrascal, Samuel Lino and Bruno Henrique. Head coach: Leonardo Jardim.

Independiente del Valle: Aldair Quintana; Daykol Romero, Mateo Carabajal, Richard Schunke and Layan Loor; Jordy Alcívar, Hugo Quintana and Júnior Sornoza; Matias Perelló, Emerson Pata and Djorkaeff Reasco. Head coach: Joaquín Papa.

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