Flamengo got Nublense, making the group pretty simple. Inter got Independiente Medellin. Palmeiras got Cerro Porteño Fluminense got Sporting Cristal. In Group E, where Corinthians are, Liverpool got drawn. Group G has two Brazilians - Athletico PR and Atlético-MG Groups F and H no Brazilian teams.
Fluminense got a bit of a tough group. I hear the trip to The Strongest is a bitch. There is another team in Colombia that I hear was a bitch too. Teams have to take I think a 4 hour bus trip to get to the city. Forget what team it is. Palmeiras and Flamengo should have no issues.
Corinthians as well. Both Atl's could make it out of Group G but it's not guaranteed. Good thing the brackets are drawn later (I think) or this would already be FLA x PAL quarters lining up and that would dominate the conversation.
The thing that sucks for Palmeiras is having 2 opponents in the altitude. Although lately that hasn't been much of a problem.
The teams in Pot 1 and 2 will all play their opening match away and their final match at home. That means all 6 Brazilian teams in besides Atl-MG will play away from home next week (corrected: April 4, 5 or 6). Also, some of them will play the State finals on the weekend before and after the first Libertadores match (Fla, Flu, Palmeiras, Athletico, Atlético-MG).
These are the opening matches involving Brazilian teams: Tuesday: 19H Alianza Lima x Athletico-PR 21H Independiente Medellín x Internacional Wednesday: 19H Aucas x Flamengo 21:30H Sporting Cristal x Fluminense 21:30H Bolívar x Palmeiras Thursday: 19H Liverpool x Corinthians 19H Atlético-MG x Libertad
Athletico-PR drew 0x0 away. Looks like they missed a few chances. They also had Thiago Heleno sent off with 10 minutes to go. Internacional gave up a cheap goal, but rallied to draw 1x1 away. Tomorrow Palmeiras and Flamengo open their campaigns, as well as Fluminense.
Good result for Inter coming off big defensive error from Medellin in the last minute. Amanha tem MENGAO !!
Flamengo had the early game today and lost 2x1 to Aucas. Scored first, gave up 2 in the second half (and a disallowed goal too). Remarkable how unable to string anything together this current coach and squad are. Palmeiras and Fluminense have their matches at 21:30 tonight.
I hate this automatic yellow on handball rule. Makes no sense to give a yellow when it's ball to hand even if the arm is stretched out. Specially a 2nd yellow.
Yeah, that red sounds harsh. In the end though, Palmeiras lost as well, 3x1. Fluminense the only one of the 3 to win today, 3x1 in Peru. Not to make an excuse for our clubs, but at least Flu didn't have to contend with altitude. Well done to them. In Sulamericana América MG got the big win, 4x1 at home to Peñarol and Fortaleza won 4x0 , also at home, against Palestino. With Santos' win yesterday that's a near-perfect start for Brazilians (Goiás was held to a draw). Still 2 more Brazilians to play in Libertadores tomorrow, and 3 in Sulamericana.
Technically so did Flamengo, but right now that includes Everton Ribeiro and Gabi, so, not quite the same. (And we had our starting keeper.)
Atlético-MG start off with a loss at home to Libertad of Paraguay. Bad for Atl-MG but also for PR who is in this group. We may see both Brazilian teams fighting for second place. Corinthians won 3x0 away, a great result, but the big news was Renato Augusto leaving due to injury, again, only 14 minutes into the match. The guy really is cursed. Next matches are in two weeks. Between now and then there's State finals, the beginning of the Brasileirão and even Copa do Brasil match-ups.
Athletico with an H beat Atlético-MG, 2x1, with a goal from Vitor Roque and a big performance from Bento, including a last-minute save. Puts Atl-MG in a tough position with no points after 2 matches. Inter also won today, and so did Fluminense. Flamengo and Corinthians play tomorrow and Palmeiras plays on Thursday.
Sounds like Flamengo are playing a good match. Not great mind you, against Ñublense fans want a goleada, regardless of who's playing and the fact it's Sampaoli's first match at the helm. Sampaoli, btw, went with a 3-5-2-ish line-up, with Marinho on one side and Ayrton Lucas on the other, Thiago Maia, Vidal and Gérson in the middle and both Pedro and Gabi starting up front. I like the line-up, certainly against weaker teams, but I think it's clear he needs the reinforcements on the right and at defensive midfield that fans have been asking for all season. 10 minutes left, Everton Ribeiro just scored to make it 3x0. EDIT: Anulado! Still 2x0 (both goals by Pedro, who has about 17 so far this season).
Really safe match for Flamengo. Nublense didn't bother much. Corinthians losing at home 1 x 0 to Argentino Jrs
Palmeiras pull off a come back win ( 2 x 1) with 2 goals from crosses and Gomez involved (goal + assist). Decent 2nd half but bad 1st half. Ze Rafael is a liability as a DM .
Fluminense with a good performance. Cano with a hat-trick. Helped by the River red card in the 2nd half, but they were already up 2 x 1 by then.
Fluminense clearly prioritizing the Libertadores and it looks like a sound decision. They should be able to take 1st comfortably in this group now. There's still the altitude of Bolivia to deal with, but a home win against Sporting Cristal will put them on 12 points and should be enough for first regardless of the two away matches left. EDIT: Sporting just got a late goal and might beat the Strongest. Still a few minutes left, but it would put all of Fluminense's opponents at 3 points while Flu has 9, in 3 matches.
Agreed. Three wins in three matches, with a group including a team from Argentina which has of late been on a hot streak in its domestic league. Yet on the Libertadores stage, that team has floundered. Not since Grêmio beat them 4-0 exactly 21 years ago yesterday did they lose by 4 goals and this was the biggest goleada they've ever suffered. I still see Palmeiras and Flamengo as Brazil's top contenders, but with Felipe Melo, Ganso (two excellent albeit aged players), and German Cano up front killing it lately, Fluminense is looking like a team to be reckoned with.