- The ‘Pincha’ and the defending champions drew 0-0 in a hard-fought match with few clear chances.
- The tie will be decided on Thursday, October 22, at the Maracanã, with a place in the Final in Montevideo at stake.
Estudiantes and Flamengo drew 0-0 at the Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in the first leg of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Semifinals, and everything will be decided on Thursday, October 22, at the Maracanã, with a place in the Montevideo Final at stake. It was a match full of friction, with few clear chances in either box.
Both teams arrived with key absences. Flamengo were without Giorgian De Arrascaeta, who fractured his left wrist in a friendly with the Uruguay national team, and Danilo, who underwent surgery for a double jaw fracture: neither will be available for the second leg. Also missing were Jorginho, suspended after his sending-off in the Quarterfinals, as well as Ayrton Lucas and Evertton Araújo, who are dealing with minor muscle injuries.
For the second leg, Jorginho will be available again, and the other two could return if they recover well. Leonardo Jardim handed a starting spot to Jorge Carrascal, usually an option off the bench, who in 2025 had scored the winning goal in the first leg of the Semifinal against Racing.
Estudiantes set the tone from the start, with an aggressive approach and camped in the opposition half. The first chance was theirs, 2' into the first half: a shot from outside the box that Agustín Rossi held at the second attempt.
That early push gradually faded. Flamengo took control of the ball and chose where to play: far from sitting back, they took the game into Estudiantes’ half and imposed their quality from midfield forward. The ‘Pincha’ ended up breaking up attacks with fouls to stop Flamengo from taking off, and their two central midfielders were booked: Alexis Castro 35' into the first half and Ezequiel Piovi, one of the ten players with the most tackles in the tournament according to Opta, 43' into the same half.
Estudiantes looked to the air, with set pieces and crosses for Guido Carrillo. But apart from Rossi’s early save, none of those attempts troubled the ‘Mengão’ before half-time. The second half followed the same pattern, with Flamengo in no hurry and Estudiantes sticking to direct play. 23' into the second half, Alexander Medina turned to his bench: Joaquín Correa replaced Tiago Palacios, who was back in CONMEBOL Libertadores action after the muscle injury he suffered on August 18 against Universidad Católica, in the second leg of the Round of 16.
During the second-half hydration break, Medina asked his players to step up what they had been doing: build through the middle and then spread the ball wide to reach the byline. Correa’s introduction, as a second striker behind Carrillo, supported that idea.
Medina then turned to two Colombians: 29' into the second half, Edwuin Cetré came on for Joaquín Tobio Burgos and, a minute later, Miguel Monsalve replaced Baltasar Rodríguez. Cetré had already combined with Correa in the 3-0 win over Universidad Católica in Santiago: after a counterattack led by Correa, he delivered the cross that Carrillo deflected in for the third goal.
By then, Flamengo had also picked up two yellow cards: Lucas Paquetá was booked 18' into the second half and Jorge Carrascal 26' in. Carrascal, usually a more creative player, became a combative midfielder this time: with constant pressing, he helped prevent Estudiantes from playing out cleanly from the back.
Jardim made his first changes 35' into the second half, both in attack: Pedro, who scored the goal in the 1-0 win over Estudiantes in the Group Stage, replaced Bruno Henrique, the team’s top scorer in this edition, and Gonzalo Plata came on for Samuel Lino. Four minutes later, Joaquín Freitas, a former River Plate player, replaced Lucas Paquetá.
The tie heads into the second leg with a detail that makes it unique: neither Estudiantes nor Flamengo has ever lost a head-to-head CONMEBOL Libertadores Semifinal. At the Maracanã, only one of them will keep that record.
