Betting on his offensive style, for which flowers have showered him in South America, Fluminense broke the iron defense of Olimpia from Paraguay by beating them 2-0 this Thursday at the Maracana in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores 2023.
The ‘Flu’, led by the Brazilian coach Fernando Diniz, reached the semifinal of the South American tournament thanks to scores from midfielder André (43) and Argentine striker Germán Cano (59).
Although he risked it again due to the strength of his defense, the ‘Dean’, three-time cup champion, succumbed to the decided script of the cariocas and will have to row against the current in the second leg, next Thursday, in Asunción.
The winner of the series will dispute the pass to the final with the winner between Bolívar (BOL) and Internacional (BRA), who obtained a valuable 1-0 victory on Tuesday at the height of La Paz.
This is how Fluminense took an important advantage against Olimpia
It would be foolish to point out that Diniz and his men had not tried to seal the series in Rio de Janeiro early on: the Brazilian coach even fielded just one brand midfielder, André, to add an offensive piece, striker John Kennedy.
But the ‘Fluzao’ attack crashed again and again with the wall built by the Paraguayan manager Francisco “Chiqui” Arce, who had already shown his robustness by liquidating the defending champion, Flamengo, in the round of 16. And that the Paraguayans suffered the loss of their captain, the combative midfielder Richard Ortiz, at the last minute due to an apparent injury.
Although they had absolute control of the field, the cariocas suffered the same evil that soured their charming start to the season: difficulty penetrating low blocks and little generation of goal options for a possession of 71 percent.
The creative Ganso had some attempts at partnership in the first half with the quick Colombian winger Jhon Arias, but they did not go beyond sparks, to the impotence of strikers John Kennedy and Argentine Germán Cano.
When the nightmare seemed to repeat itself, a supporting actor in the tricolor attack made the 64,047 attendees at the temple of South American football vibrate.
The promising Brazilian international, who emerged from the ‘Flu’ academy, scored his first goal in the Libertadores and the fourth of his career just the day he completed 150 games with the cariocas.
The advantage gave Diniz peace of mind, always active on the line, as it was a reward for his commitment and his team hardly loses at home (18 wins and five draws in the last 23 matches).
Consistent with their footballing philosophies, both coaches stuck to the script in the second half, with hits and misses, including the inability of the visitors, in the bottom half of the Paraguayan league, to worry veteran goalkeeper Fábio. But this time the ‘Flu’ unlocked the game faster thanks to the lethality of Cano, who hit a volley, almost on the ground, with a header from the newly entered Martinelli.
The Argentine equaled the Brazilian Paulinho, from the eliminated Atlético Mineiro, at the top of the scorers’ table, with seven goals. His score also allows Fluminense to be excited about settling a historic debt: lifting their first Libertadores.
SPORTS
with AFP
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