In a game in which they did not find it easy against a very dedicated Racing (Argentina), Flamengo showed a lot of spirit and counted on the decision-making power of the Colombian Carrascal to win 1-0, on Wednesday night (22) at the Maracanã stadium, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores da América.
🔴⚫ Giant victory! With a late goal, the @Flemish hit the @RacingClub 1-0 in the first game of the CONMEBOL Semi-Final #Libertadores!
🔜 The return will be in Argentina on the 29th!#EternalGlory pic.twitter.com/xNnuVeCEvH
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) October 23, 2025
Now, to guarantee a place in the decision of the continental competition, Rubro-Negro da Gávea can even draw in the return match, which will be played from 9:30 pm (Brasília time) next Wednesday (29) at the El Cilindro stadium, in Avellaneda.
Racing fighter
Faced with a team that promised to be much more complicated than its quarter-final opponent, Estudiantes (Argentina), coach Filipe Luís bet on a change in the attack of the starting team, the entry of Carrascal in place of the slightly productive Samuel Lino. And the change proved to be correct in the first half, with the Colombian creating good plays on the left wing.
However, Flamengo was unable to overcome Racing’s strong defense, which proved to be a very fierce opponent from the first moves. As a result, Rubro-Negro created little until the break. The best opportunities were a shot at the crossbar by Arrascaeta in the 20th minute and an acrobatic finish by center forward Pedro in the 46th minute.
🚁 @maracana 🏟️🇧🇷
🏆 In search of #EternalGlory! pic.twitter.com/5gWPz4WtoT
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) October 23, 2025
Even playing in a Maracanã with more than 71 thousand present, the team led by coach Gustavo Costas also took risks in attack. And the Argentine team’s best opportunity in the opening half came in the 33rd minute, when Almendra took a corner at the near post and Solari took the opportunity to hit it first time to force Rossi to make a difficult save.
Decisive Carrascal
After the break, coach Filipe Luís started to use his bench, giving his team a boost, which took control of the actions against a Racing team that clearly tired after a first half of a lot of physical effort.
In this way, Rubro-Negro started to find more spaces to finish. And the first opportunity to score came from Arrascaeta’s shot from the edge of the area in the 13th minute, which was saved by goalkeeper Cambeses. Ten minutes later, the one who arrived in danger was full-back Ayrton Lucas, who advanced from the left before hitting the ball wide.
⚽⏱️ It’s already 7️⃣0️⃣ minutes of the ball rolling at Maracanã!
🇧🇷🇦🇷 @Flemish 0-0 @RacingClub!
🏆 CONMEBOL #Libertadores | #EternalGlory pic.twitter.com/9J853VylKi
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) October 23, 2025
At 31 Cambeses shone again, this time to save a very strong shot from Samuel Lino. Four minutes later Flamengo’s number 16 finished again, this time covering the Argentine goalkeeper to put the ball in the back of the goal. But the move ended up being canceled due to the Brazilian striker being offside.
But the Gávea team’s insistence was rewarded in the 42nd minute, when Bruno Henrique finished, goalkeeper Cambeses partially saved and the ball fell to Carrascal, who hit it first time. The ball deflected off Rojo, but found the back of the net to guarantee an important victory for Flamengo.
