- Estudiantes rose to the occasion at the Maracanã, beat Flamengo on penalties after a goalless draw in normal time and secured their place in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores Final.
- Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera saved three penalties in the shoot-out to become the hero of an unforgettable night, steeped in the mystique that has long been part of the Argentine club's history.
Alexander Medina's side showed their continental pedigree. They held firm with ten men for almost the entire second half, took the tie to a penalty shoot-out and watched Muslera save efforts from Jorginho, Paquetá and Bruno Henrique to send Pincha back to a continental final for the first time in 17 years. Estudiantes will face Palmeiras in the Grand Final, which takes place on Saturday 28 November at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
The first half had two distinct phases. Estudiantes were the better side early on, imposing their game plan and testing Rossi. Flamengo then grew into the contest, pushed forward and began to threaten the goal guarded by Fernando Muslera.
Estudiantes made their first move in the 15th minute. Leandro González Pirez nodded a cross into the danger area, and Marcos Rojo met it from close range, only for Agustín Rossi to produce his first major save of the night. Moments later, midfielder Baltasar Rodríguez created space for himself through the middle and tried his luck from distance. The Argentine goalkeeper stretched to his left and got a touch on the ball, which struck the post before going behind for a corner.
Those two scares prompted Mengão to respond. In the 23rd minute, Pedro controlled the ball confidently inside the box and laid it back with a backheel. Emerson Royal's shot, however, was blocked by a timely intervention from Santiago Núñez, who prevented the opener. The Brazilian forward soon became Flamengo's main attacking outlet again. He won the ball back in the final third while pressing Alexis Castro and sent a shot across goal, but Colombian forward Jorge Carrascal could not get the final touch.
Before half-time, Pincha were forced into their first substitution. Joaquín Correa, struggling with a physical problem, was replaced by Tiago Palacios. Worse was to follow for Medina's side. Four minutes into the second half, midfielder Baltasar Rodríguez was sent off after receiving his second yellow card, leaving Estudiantes a man down.
From the resulting free-kick, Lucas Paquetá tried to catch the defence out by curling his effort around the outside of the wall. Muslera went down to his right to turn the shot away and preserve the clean sheet. The Uruguayan goalkeeper produced another outstanding intervention in the 82nd minute, blocking a Gonzalo Plata header after a perfectly weighted pass from Paquetá.
The former West Ham forward was undoubtedly the most influential player of the second half. With two minutes of normal time remaining, he got in front of his marker to meet a Jorginho cross with a header inside the León penalty area, but the ball flashed just wide of Muslera's right-hand post.
Normal time ran out without either side finding a way through, sending the tie to penalties, just as it had in the 2025 edition.
On a legendary stage, Fernando Muslera etched his name into an unforgettable chapter of the club's history. De Arrascaeta and Léo Pereira scored for Flamengo, while José Sosa, Eros Mancuso and Tiago Palacios converted for Estudiantes. Edwin Cetré missed his effort.
The difference came between the posts. Muslera dived to his right to save penalties from Jorginho, Paquetá and Bruno Henrique, sending Pincha through to the Grand Final against Palmeiras at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo on Saturday 28 November.
The match in numbers:
- Estudiantes have reached the final in each of the last four semi-finals they have played in international competitions: the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores (against Flamengo), the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup (against Pohang Steelers), the 2009 Libertadores (against Nacional) and the 2008 Sudamericana (against Argentinos Juniors).
- Estudiantes have progressed to the next round or won the title in four of the five occasions on which they drew the first leg at home in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. Three of those instances came in 2026: against Universidad Católica in the last 16, Corinthians in the quarter-finals and Flamengo in the semi-finals.
- Estudiantes are the third Argentine side to reach a CONMEBOL Libertadores Final on Brazilian soil, after Boca Juniors (against Palmeiras in 2001, 2018 and 2023) and River Plate (against Grêmio in 2018).
- Estudiantes' last two penalty shoot-out wins in CONMEBOL competitions have both come away from home: against Flamengo at the Maracanã in the 2026 Libertadores semi-finals and against Peñarol at the Estadio Centenario in the last 16 of the 2014 Sudamericana.
- This was Estudiantes' first penalty shoot-out win in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. Three of their previous four defeats in shoot-outs had come against Brazilian sides.
- Estudiantes became the second team to keep a clean sheet in both legs of a CONMEBOL Libertadores knockout tie against Flamengo, after Peñarol in the 2024 quarter-finals.
- Estudiantes had just 24% possession against Flamengo but created two of the match's three big chances and recorded an almost identical expected goals tally (0.79 xG to 0.86 xG), despite having fewer shots (8 to 13).
- Estudiantes' Guido Carrillo is the only player to have won more than 10 duels in a single match against Flamengo in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores, achieving the feat twice: 12 today and 11 in their Group Stage meeting in May.
- Estudiantes generated 92% of their expected goals against Flamengo from set-pieces (0.73/0.79), while the Rubro-Negro produced 93% of their xG from open play (0.80/0.86).
- Fernando Muslera of Estudiantes is the first goalkeeper to save a penalty taken by Jorginho for Flamengo. The midfielder had converted all 12 of his previous spot-kicks.
- Fernando Muslera of Estudiantes became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a CONMEBOL Libertadores shoot-out, excluding the preliminary rounds, since Agustín Orión did so for Boca Juniors against Nacional in the 2016 quarter-finals.
