Flamengo lost the title of the Recopa Sul-Americana (disputed between the champion of the Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana) after being overcome by 5-4 in the penalty shootout by Independiente Del Valle (Ecuador) even after pulling off a victory of 1 to 0 in regular time, on the night of this Tuesday (28) at the Maracanã stadium, in Rio de Janeiro.
??⭐ ¡Giant! @IDV_EC became CONMEBOL champion #Recup at Maracaná.
?? He beat Flamengo by penalties and made history by winning the trophy for the first time. pic.twitter.com/0bsy9PWwnx
— CONMEBOL Recopa (@ConmebolRecopa) March 1, 2023
With this setback, the Gávea team loses the third opportunity to win a title in 2023, after the frustrating campaigns in the Brazilian Super Cup (in which it was overcome by Palmeiras) and in the Club World Cup (a tournament that ended in third place).
Trying to take advantage of the advantage built in the first leg, when they triumphed by 1-0 last week in Quito (Ecuador), Del Valle entered the field with a clearly defensive posture. Argentine coach Martín Anselmi gave up a man up front and formed a line of five defenders.
However, even facing an opponent with such a conservative posture, Rubro-Negro, in front of an audience of more than 65 thousand fans, managed to create clear chances to score. And the first comes in the 14th minute, when Everton Ribeiro receives the ball on the right and crosses into the area, where Pedro finishes with a header that goalkeeper Ramírez saves.
Two minutes later, the Fla striker was happier with his finish, as he managed to overcome the opposing goalkeeper and put the ball in the back of the net. But the move was annulled by the referee, who signaled that Pedro was offside.
Del Valle even tried to compensate for the lower technical quality with a lot of dedication, but the dominance remained of the Rubro-Negro, who had the most crystal clear opportunities to open the scoring in the 30th minute, with a shot by midfielder Thiago Maia that exploded on the crossbar, and 31, with a header by lateral Ayrton Lucas that hit the crossbar.
In addition Varela and Arrascaeta still arrived with danger, but Del Valle’s defense was efficient and held the equality until the break.
⏱️ Entertime! Interval!
? CONMEBOL #Recup 2023 pic.twitter.com/ygeKCrn0oP
— CONMEBOL Recopa (@ConmebolRecopa) March 1, 2023
In the final stage, the Ecuador team gave up the attack for good and retreated their lines in order to offer even less space for a Flamengo that clearly started to find it more difficult to transform ball possession into goal opportunities.
With the poor performance of his team, the contested Portuguese coach Vítor Pereira tried to change the scenario by making some substitutions. But Del Valle showed efficiency to hold the game.
And the suffering of the Rubro-Negra crowd lasted until the 50th minute of the second half, when Gabriel Barbosa received the ball on the right, crossed to Everton Cebolinha, who, inside the area, killed in the chest and played for Arrascaeta, who finished from first to scoring the goal that kept the title dream alive. With this result, the match went to extra time, where the score lasted until the end, which meant that the title had to be disputed on penalties.
??⚽️ Release the scream, @GiorgiandeA!
?⚫️ @Flamengo #Recup pic.twitter.com/KPgNlUS9tT
— CONMEBOL Recopa (@ConmebolRecopa) March 1, 2023
And in the maximum penalties, goalkeeper Ramírez shone, defending Arrascaeta’s charge, while David Luiz, Everton Cebolinha, Gerson and Gabriel Barbosa did not fail. For the Ecuadorian team, Faravelli, Hoyos, Previtali, Schunke and Landázuri overcame goalkeeper Santos to secure the title.
? Champion!
?? @IDV_EC won the CONMEBOL #Recup al beat Flamengo 5-4 in penalties. First time winning this title. pic.twitter.com/DhfqzNPSxO
— CONMEBOL Recopa (@ConmebolRecopa) March 1, 2023
