Flamengo 2-1 River Plate: Copa Libertadores final – as it happened

45 mins: Three minutes added on!

44 mins: Borre is played in down the left flank and latches onto the ball, taking it into the area, he tries to pull it back but the ball is blocked by the goalkeeper. He is a mile offside but the assistant waits ten seconds to put the flag up.

42 mins: Now there is a nasty head clash between Rafinha and De La Cruz, when challenging for the ball on the halfway line. The River man caught the Brazilian full-back on the temple, resulting in both needing treatment.

40 mins: Another foul, this time from Fernandez on Arao, who is shoved from behind for little to no reason.

38 mins: There are two Manchester City legends involved in this game. Flamengo have Pablo Mari at the back - I am not sure he ever visited Manchester in his three years with the club. Meanwhile, Bruno Zuculini is on the River bench - he enjoyed six loan spells during his three years at City.

36 mins: Palacios almost adds a second. He picks the ball up 25 yards from goal and gets it out of his feet before firing a fearsome wide just wide.

34 mins: Gerson takes the ball off De La Cruz and then dribbles 60 yards down the pitch, beating a number of players on the way until tiring near the edge of the area and being dispossessed before he could do anything dangerous.

32 mins: Flamengo send in a couple of crosses into the box but they are dealt with, the second being caught by Armani who looks happy to dominate his own area.

30 mins: We have a booking! Casco is the man to see yellow after clipping Rafinha the wing. It will not be the last caution of the match, thats for sure.

28 mins: This game is lacking in individual moments of quality. River are on top thanks to their tempo making things difficult for Flamengo who cannot cope with the pressing and are getting overrun in midfield.

Here is the goal.

26 mins: Stephen Carr (probably not that one) says: “Interesting game insofar as both managers look like magicians on a Cruise liner.”

Who has the better tricks?

24 mins: The referee is sweating profusely and he is unlikely to cool down. De La Cruz commits the latest foul with a very late challenge on Rafinha. It’s hard to keep up with the cynical fouls.

22 mins: Suarez tries to cross the ball for De La Cruz but it hits the River winger’s feet and bounces out of play.

20 mins: Gabriel goes down under minimal pressure and rightly gets nothing for it. The striker lies on the ground for a moment, looking angrily at the referee before getting up. Some of the passing so far has been pretty poor, possibly due to the pitch. To make up for this, the fouling has been relentless.

18 mins: The roar when the goal hit the back of the net was incredible and Borre certainly loved the moment. Gallardo imminent statue can’t be built enough at this rate.

16 mins: How will Flamengo respond? This will suit River’s style, I feel and they will be able to sit back and hit Flamengo on the break.

River Plate are aided by some dreadful defending inside the Flamengo area. Luis gets in a pickle on the edge and loses possession, the ball then makes it to the byline and is pulled back but all the Flamengo defenders leave it for each other, allowing Borre to nip in and fire into the corner.

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12 mins: If you like fouls, this is the game for you. On the upside, Rodrigo Caio is now playing with tissue up his nose. As an image, it is not up there with Terry Butcher’s bandage around his head.

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10 mins: Flamengo take a short free-kick but it’s a bit rubbish and River counter-attack but it is just about ended by Filipe Luis after he first slipped. The pitch looks pretty dry and slow, which will not help this contest.

8 mins: Rodrigo Caio suffers a bloody nose and takes a bit of time one the sideline to get some tissue bunged up there or something equally comical. On the pitch, Bruno Henrique goes down after a shove in the back 25 yards from goal.

6 mins: The latest person to go down is Rodrigo Caio who has taken a knock to the face. I think we might have a lot of injury time in this one.

4 mins: Flamengo are enjoying the majority of the early possession. Luis almost gets beyond his man and into the box but takes a heavy touch and loses the ball. Amani comes to punch a cross and goes down after colliding with an attacker. It is just a coming together and everyone should stop messing about.

2 mins: The stands are awash with red, white and black. It looks like a cracking atmosphere in Lima. The game has started at a pretty high tempo and there’s been a couple of fouls already and both sets of players look to show they’re up for it.

Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!

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You heard, Baz!

Some stormtroopers have brought out the trophy. What a ludicrous spectacle. I am pretty confused.

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Jonathan Wilson is in the studio, so you’re stuck with me.

Some pre-match reading ...

Flamengo: Diego Alves, Rafinha, Rodrigo Caio, Pablo Marí, Filipe Luis, Willian Arão, Gerson, Éverton Ribeiro, G. De Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique, Gabriel Barbosa

Subs: Rodinei, Rhodolfo, Rene, Diego, Vitinho, Cesar, Souza, Reinier, Lincoln, Piris, Thuler, Berio

River Plate: Armani; Montiel, Martinez Quarta, Pinola, Casco; Nacho Fernández, Enzo Pérez, Palacios, De La Cruz; Borre, Suárez.

Subs: Bologna, Lux, Rojas, Diaz, Angileri, Zuculini, Ponzio, Ferreira, Quintero, Álvarez, Scocco, Pratto.

Good evening!

Last year’s final will be remembered for the cancellations and the second leg eventually taking place in Madrid, so getting the whole thing done in one night would be a result.

Flamengo’s frontline is led by Gabriel, or Gabigol as he is affectionately known. His early promised resulted in a move to Inter but they sent him quickly on his way to Benfica for a loan spell. After one goal in 10 games in Europe, he was packed off back to Brazil to Santos and now Flamengo where he has enjoyed plenty of success.

River Plate, on the other hand, rely on their manager to make the difference. Marcelo Gallardo is highly thought of in Argentina and could make the move to Europe in the near future, with a Copa Libertadores in his back pocket certainly useful on the CV, so a third tonight would be great. He’s recently been linked with the Barcelona job.

Should be a cracker!

Kick-off is at 8pm (GMT)