Lino rejects 'friendly' tag for Flamengo v River: 'Brazil v Argentina' | OneFootball

Samuel Lino scored a goal in this Friday’s match (03)

A friendly? Not at all! Flamengo and River Plate (ARG) faced off this Friday (03) in the Algarve, in a warm-up clash for both teams ahead of the rest of the year. If the match was not worth three points, on the other hand, the honor and rivalry of the Brazil vs. Argentina classic were on the line, as highlighted by Samuel Lino, author of one of the goals in the 2-2 draw.

— We know about this rivalry between Brazil and Argentina. There’s no such thing as a friendly or an easy game. We go in hard to play for real. And the best part is that it was a clean match. Both teams competed hard, and all the players came out fine —, Samuel Lino told Flamengo TV.

The match really did not look like a friendly. Both teams committed hard fouls, Samuel Lino himself complained loudly about the refereeing and showed irritation when he was substituted. In addition, Bruno Henrique taunted the Argentine fans after scoring a great goal.

HOW DID THE MATCH GO?

After a mistake by Jorginho, Sebastián Driussi opened the scoring just eight minutes in. However, the midfielder made amends and assisted Samuel Lino to level things at the 30-minute mark. Soon after, club idol Bruno Henrique made it 2-1 in the 33rd minute. Still in the first half, Driussi equalized again.

Flamengo’s ups and downs in the match have an explanation: lack of match rhythm. The Rubro-Negro had not played since the end of May, when they beat Coritiba in the Brasileirão. So Lino summed up Mengão’s current moment at this stage of the season.

— It is a challenge, yes (to come back with high intensity). There’s also the heat in Portugal. Here in the Algarve, that doesn’t help, but it’s been very good to do preseason here. After a few days off, we gave a good response. I think we deserved the win, and it was a good challenge to keep the preparation going. It’s been good (working with Jardim). I’m improving a lot and I like working with him. I think he’s a good coach —, he said.

WHEN IS FLAMENGO’S NEXT MATCH?

Continuing their mid-season training period, Flamengo face Lausanne (SUI) next Wednesday (08), again in the Algarve. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. Brasília time, with full coverage from Coluna do Fla, live from Portugal.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION?

— Lino had a great game this Friday and really embodied the spirit of Brazil vs. Argentina. Drifting more through the middle at times during the match, the winger scored a beautiful goal and picked out some excellent passes, the main one being for Ayrton Lucas, who could not find the net. In the absence of Arrascaeta and Carrascal, the No. 16 can fill in in that role —, opined Pedro Paulo Catonho, journalist for Coluna do Fla.

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