Luiz Araújo explains odd celebration in Flamengo v Mirassol | OneFootball

Luiz Araújo scored one of the goals in Flamengo’s rout

The “Ex’s Law” never fails in Brazilian football. This Sunday (16), Luiz Araújo returned to Maião Stadium, where he came through the youth ranks, and scored one of the goals in Flamengo’s 5-1 thrashing of Mirassol. During the celebration, the No. 7 simply sprinted across the entire pitch and went to celebrate with the Nation present in the countryside of São Paulo. The winger explained that his relatives were there.

— Being able to score, in a special match, with my whole family here… I’m sure many of them had never seen me score in person. That’s why I ran across the field, I made a point of going over there to them, because it’s a special moment in my life and in theirs too —, explained Luiz Araújo.

With the result, Flamengo closed the gap on Palmeiras. Now, the São Paulo side is only three points behind Mengão. Luiz Araújo acknowledged that the clash with Mirassol became even more important after the league leaders lost to Fluminense on Saturday (15). In addition, the player looked ahead to Wednesday’s (19) Libertadores showdown against Cruzeiro.

— We knew how important this game was, after Palmeiras lost, giving us the chance to get even closer to them. So we went all in to get the result. We did it, and we played a great match. It will be completely different against Cruzeiro, the Maracanã will be packed, with the fans supporting us. That will make all the difference. We’ll try to play a great game and go through —, stressed Luiz Araújo.

HOW WAS LUIZ ARAÚJO’S GOAL?

Seven minutes into the second half, Jorge Carrascal, Pedro and Luiz Araújo put together a good passing move. Then the Colombian laid it off to the former Mirassol player, who stayed calm before slotting it into the back of the net. In the celebration, the No. 7 did not hide his emotion after the goal.

Luiz Araújo was injured in the friendly against Olimpia (PAR) on July 17. After a heavy challenge, the winger suffered an injury to his left knee. In other words, the forward returned to the pitch exactly one month after the physical issue. In official matches, his last appearance had come against Coritiba, before the World Cup, at the end of May.

— I feel good. It was many days of treatment. Focusing, of course, on coming back well. Today I’m very happy to have returned and to be able to play and regain my rhythm. The hardest thing after coming back from injury is match rhythm. So today I was able to regain that rhythm, play well and help Flamengo. I’m sure that will help me a lot in Wednesday’s game —, he added.

WILL LUIZ ARAÚJO PLAY ON WEDNESDAY?

With Luiz Araújo available, Flamengo host Cruzeiro at the Maracanã from 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time). Since the first leg at Mineirão ended 1-1, whoever wins advances to the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals to face Independiente del Valle (ECU) or Tolima (COL).

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