With a very poor performance, Flamengo was defeated 1-0 by Lanús (Argentina), on Thursday night (19) at the La Fortaleza stadium, in the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina), in the first leg of the Recopa Sul-Americana, a competition that pits the current champion of the Copa Libertadores and the holder of the last edition of the Copa Sudamericana face to face.
🙌🇱🇻 ¡Victoria de @clublanus! Sacó is in search of the CONMEBOL title #Recup. pic.twitter.com/vrfLuAuHz1
— CONMEBOL Recopa (@ConmebolRecopa) February 20, 2026
After the setback away from home, the team led by coach Filipe Luís has the opportunity to guarantee the title of the competition next Thursday (26), when they will face the Argentine team again at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), but this time on the lawn of the Maracanã stadium. To win the title in regulation time, Rubro-Negro needs to win by a difference of two or more goals. In the event of a minimum score win, the title will be decided in a penalty shootout.
Betting on a different formation, with three players who stand out for their ability to articulate plays (Uruguayan Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Brazilian Lucas Paquetá and Colombian Jorge Carrascal), Flamengo showed little firepower during the beginning of the match. And the main cause seemed to be the absence of a regular center forward in the team, as coach Filipe Luís chose to leave Pedro and Bruno Henrique on the bench.
Lanús, on the other hand, was betting on the willpower and dedication of its players to compensate for the lower technical quality of its squad. And the path chosen by coach Mauricio Pellegrino proved to be the right one.
⚔️ Fight for it! Confrontation for the cup!
🇦🇷 @clublanus 0-0 @Flemish 🇧🇷
🏆 CONMEBOL #Recup 2026 pic.twitter.com/cGGIXtMKZf
— CONMEBOL Recopa (@ConmebolRecopa) February 20, 2026
Pushed by their fans, the Argentine team created good opportunities from the first minutes, and even put a ball into the goal defended by Rossi in the 10th minute of the opening stage with Castillo, but the move ended up being canceled due to an offside position.
After the break Filipe Luís tried to change the course of the match with Pedro taking charge of the attack, but Lanúns continued to control the actions based on their will, and the Argentine team came very close to opening the score in the 24th minute, when another goal from Castillo was disallowed.
🇦🇷 Argentine fiesta night!
🇱🇻 @clublanus
🏆 CONMEBOL #Recup 2026 pic.twitter.com/AGozzRX5ga
— CONMEBOL Recopa (@ConmebolRecopa) February 20, 2026
However, in the 31st minute, Castillo’s insistence was rewarded and the Argentine center forward took advantage of a ball raised in the area to head in the goal that guaranteed his team’s victory.
