Flamengo wins Group A by beating Junior 3-1, who will play...

The current champion of the Copa Libertadores, Flamengo, won Group A by beating Atlético Junior de Colombia 3-1 comfortably this Wednesday, which lost the chance to play the round of 16 of the tournament and will have to settle for the South American.

The Rio de Janeiro club, led by the Spanish Domènec Torrent, enforced the Maracanã with goals from Thuler (10), Lincoln (40) and Bruno Henrique (75), and reached 15 of 18 points in the group stage. World Cup player Teófilo Gutiérrez discounted (69) in a counterattack.

Classified before the sixth and last meeting in the home run zone, the ‘Fla’ lined up a substitute formation that found no resistance against the Colombian starter, widely surpassed throughout the match by the Brazilian champion.

Despite the defeat, the ‘sharks’ qualified for the South American for having finished in the third position of the group, with six units, three more than the bottom Barcelona de Guayaquil, who lost 2-0 this Wednesday with Independiente del Valle, second classified of the zone to eighth, in Quito.

– Superiority –

The Rio de Janeiro substitution responded to Torrent’s request. The tight schedule due to the delay caused by the pandemic has taken a toll on a workforce that has suffered injuries, suspensions or Covid-19 infections.

The coach opted for those on the bench -guided by the experienced Diego Ribas- to relieve loads and arrive oxygenated to the weekend’s duel against Inter de Porto Alegre, with whom they share the lead of Brasileirao.

The substitutes did not clash and defeated, without much effort, the Colombian runner-up. And they did it with a formula that was repeated ad nauseam: attacks by the wings that ended in the center, in the heart of the Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastián Viera’s area.

Vitinho, Matheuzinho, Lincoln and Michael were a torment for the Colombian markers Gabriel Fuentes and Marlon Piedrahita.

The Brazilian wingers and wingers entered both coffee bands at their ease. They always focused and found someone with the same shirt. On the first warning, in the 9th minute, Vitinho slammed the ball off the crossbar after taking advantage of a poor clearance by defender Willer Ditta.

There was no chance for Junior to send an SOS, when the popular team from Rio de Janeiro had already opened the scoring in a corner. Léo Pereira served the round so that the other central defender of Fla, Thuler, shot Viera.

Advantage did not swap roles. Flamengo circulated the ball at ease, without even finding the survival instinct of his counterpart. The only sign of life was a spectacular save from Viera, point-blank, to Vitinho, after Michael’s right off the hook.

– Judgment –

Viera unfolded the angel wings that are stamped on his back but not even managed to illuminate his teammates, who barely disturbed goalkeeper César with a safe shot from Venezuelan Luis González, in the 20th, in a free kick from the side.

When the Caribbeans were urged that the first part end soon, Lincoln sentenced the contest. Vitinho left Piedrahita behind and assisted the attacker to sentence the Colombian elimination.

The rojiblancos threatened to resurrect in a counterattack that found the defense of ‘Fla’ displaced for the first time. Fuentes slipped a ball so that Gutiérrez, before César’s hasty departure, fed an illusion that Bruno Henrique later buried in a nice header from a corner.

Flamengo consolidated its resurgence after the historic 5-0 that Independiente del Valle gave it in the height of the Ecuadorian capital just over a month ago. Since then he has had ten undefeated games (eight wins) and has defended the Brazilian title and the Libertadores hand in hand.

The defeat, on the other side of the court, also strengthened a trend: Junior’s irregularity under the command of former international Luis Amaranto Perea, director of one of the heaviest payrolls in Colombia who seems to be content with playing the South American.

raa/gfe