Guayaquil in Ecuador, October 30 (BNA): Flamengo won their third Copa Libertadores title unbeaten after beating Atletico 1-0 in the Brazilian final on Saturday.
Gabriel Barbosa shone in the final once again by scoring the lone goal in Ecuador’s half-filled Metropolitano Stadium, the Associated Press reported.
Flamengo also won in 1981 and 2019, with the latter scoring twice for Barbosa in a 2-1 final win over Argentina’s River Plate.
Barbosa, who is considered a slim chance to play for Brazil in the World Cup in Qatar, scored the only goal for Rio de Janeiro in the final last year in its loss to Brazilian rival Palmeiras.
Barbosa’s last goal came in the 43rd minute when Atletico defender Pedro Henrique was booked for the second time after a violent tackle. The incident gave Flamengo more space to attack, and the goal came in the last seconds of the first half.
Everton Ribeiro made a low cross from the right and Barbosa had to push the ball into the empty net.
“It was as special as my first goal in the final,” Barbosa said after the match.
On the way to the final, Flamengo knocked out Colombia’s Tolima, Brazil’s Corinthians and Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield, winning all of their matches.
Flamengo striker Pedro, who is expected to be part of Brazil’s World Cup squad, was the World Cup’s top scorer with 12 goals in 13 matches.
Flamengo coach Dorival Jr said Barbosa was key to winning the title in a different style, playing on the flanks to feed Pedro.
“He was decisive in one title as top scorer and now as a player in the team,” said Dorival Junior, who took over in July after the sacking of Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa. “Gabriel has worked with us more than he did in 2019.”
Atletico, chasing their first Copa Libertadores title, were unable to offer a perfect farewell to coach Luis Felipe Scolari. The former World Cup winning coach said he resigned at the age of 73. He previously won the Copa Cup with Boys Club Gremio in 1995 and with Palmeiras in 1999.
Scolari did not discuss his possible retirement during the post-match press conference. Veteran midfielder Fernandinho, who joined Atletico from Manchester City, said the title was lost “in detail”.
Local authorities in Ecuador struggled to sell 60,000 tickets for the final. Guayaquil is located approximately 6,000 kilometers (4,000 mi) from Rio and Curitiba.