- The forward has scored five goals from 13 shots, nine of which were on target.
- At 35, he has matched his tally from 2019, the year he won his first title, and is just one goal away from his best-ever season in the competition.
When Flamengo announced their starting line-up in Quito, shortly before the first leg of their quarter-final against Independiente del Valle, one selection stood out: Bruno Henrique was starting. Leonardo Jardim turned to the 35-year-old forward to tackle the altitude at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, and his decision paid off in the 61st minute, with Flamengo's first shot on target of the evening. Jorginho drove through the middle, Samuel Lino delivered a cross to the far post and Bruno Henrique finished with his right foot to make it 1-0, setting Flamengo on their way to a 2-0 victory. He was replaced by Pedro with five minutes remaining.
Opta's statistics identify Bruno Henrique as the most clinical goalscorer in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores. He has scored five goals from 13 shots, nine of them on target, and his 38% conversion rate is the highest in the competition among players with more than five attempts. Only Álex Arce, with nine goals for Independiente Rivadavia, and Carlos González, with seven for Independiente del Valle, are ahead of him in the scoring charts. Both, however, have needed considerably more attempts than the Belo Horizonte-born forward: 24 and 39 shots respectively. He has also provided two assists, setting up Luiz Araújo in La Plata against Estudiantes and Giorgian de Arrascaeta against Independiente Medellín, giving him seven direct goal contributions for the defending champions.
His campaign is that of a striker who does not need a high volume of chances. He scored in the opening round in Cusco, following an assist from Ayrton Lucas; in the 4-1 victory over Medellín at the Maracanã; twice in the 3-0 win against Cusco that rounded off the best group-stage campaign in the competition; and in Quito. His five goals match his tally from 2019, when Flamengo won the Copa for the first time in 38 years and he claimed the first of his three Libertadores titles. Only his six goals in 2021 represent a better return. At 35, he is enjoying the second-highest-scoring Libertadores campaign of his career.
One statistic offers an insight into how Jardim manages his playing time. According to Opta, Bruno Henrique has been substituted more often than any other Flamengo player in this year's competition, eight times, while Pedro has made the most appearances off the bench, with six. The division of responsibilities is clear: Bruno Henrique has started nine of his ten matches and played 645 minutes, while Pedro has featured in eight games, totalling 250 minutes, with two goals and three assists. One starts the matches; the other finishes them. In the second leg against Independiente del Valle, with the tie still in the balance, the No. 27 was again withdrawn in the 70th minute, before De Arrascaeta's header secured a 1-1 draw and a 3-1 aggregate victory.
A altitude também não é novidade para ele, mas La Plata apresenta um desafio diferente. O gol em Quito foi seu quarto acima dos 2.000 metros de altitude e o terceiro na capital equatoriana. No Estádio UNO, encontrará a defesa que menos permite ações adversárias dentro de sua área na competição: os rivais do Estudiantes registram, em média, 13,2 ações com a bola na área do ‘Pincha’, o terceiro menor número desde o início da Fase de Grupos, e apenas oito quando a equipe de Alexander Medina joga em La Plata. No gol estará Fernando Muslera, com 900 minutos disputados e 26 defesas, a sétima maior marca desta edição.
O confronto mais recente, porém, traz boas lembranças. No empate por 1 a 1 em abril, em La Plata, Bruno Henrique não marcou, mas deu a assistência para Luiz Araújo no gol do ‘Mengão’, e o Flamengo não perdeu em 20 de seus últimos 21 jogos pela CONMEBOL Libertadores. A única derrota aconteceu naquele mesmo estádio, por 1 a 0, nas Quartas de Final de 2025, em uma série decidida nos pênaltis que terminou com a quarta conquista do clube. Ele participou daquela campanha, assim como das de 2019, 2021 e 2022.
Jardim preferiu falar sobre a equipe após a partida em Quito: “Demos um passo importante, não decisivo, na eliminatória”, afirmou. Na quinta-feira, em La Plata, começa outra. E o atual campeão volta a contar, para a primeira parte do plano e caso seja titular, com o atacante que precisa de menos finalizações para marcar.
