Spanish paper on Arrascaeta: “South America’s most decisive” | OneFootball

Outlet highlighted the Uruguayan’s introduction and said the No. 10 is the most decisive player in South America

Flamengo qualified for the Libertadores semifinal this Thursday (17). After a hard-fought match and a below-par performance from the Rio de Janeiro side, Arrascaeta came off the bench and scored. As a result, the Uruguayan earned praise from Spanish newspaper AS, which described him as the most decisive player in South America.

WHAT DID THE SPANISH NEWSPAPER SAY ABOUT ARRASCAETA?

“A moment of brilliance dashed the visitors’ hopes. Arrascaeta latched onto a long ball from Rossi and, quicker than anyone else, burst in behind Quintana. The opposing goalkeeper misjudged the flight of the ball, and there was the Uruguayan to nod home with ease, wiping out any remaining hope of an Independiente del Valle comeback. Flamengo’s No. 10 is the most decisive player in all of South America, and he proved it once again,” AS highlighted.

WAS ARRASCAETA A STANDOUT IN THE MATCH?

Leonardo Jardim’s team took the field looking disjointed, delivered a performance below expectations, and fell behind on the scoreboard. However, the situation became even more complicated after Jorginho was sent off.

The midfielder received his second yellow card with nearly half an hour still left to play. Down to 10 men, Flamengo adopted a more defensive approach. As a result, the Ecuadorians began pressing in search of a comeback.

However, Arrascaeta was brought on in the second half in place of Paquetá. After Jorginho’s red card, Leonardo Jardim needed to take off a forward. So Bruno Henrique came off, and the No. 10 began playing as a ‘false 9’.

Late in the match, Rossi found the Uruguayan with an excellent ‘direct ball’. Arrascaeta then took advantage of the Del Valle goalkeeper being off his line and scored the goal that definitively sealed qualification.

HOW DID FLAMENGO ADVANCE?

Flamengo advanced 3-1 on aggregate after beating Independiente del Valle 2-0 in the first leg in Quito. In this way, the Rubro-Negro secured yet another place in the semifinal of the continental competition. With Arrascaeta available, Flamengo will face Estudiantes (ARG) in the next round.

The matches against Estudiantes are scheduled for the weeks of October 14 and 21. That means the first leg will take place at the Argentine side’s home ground, while the decisive clash will be at the Maracanã.

BEFORE THE FINAL, WHAT’S NEXT?

Before that, Flamengo return to action this Sunday (20) to face Red Bull Bragantino. The match will be played at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at the Maracanã, in the 28th round of the Brasileirão. As usual, Coluna do Fla will bring all the details of the match on the website, YouTube, and social media.

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