- Down to ten men from 12 minutes into the second half, the Rio side drew 1-1 with Independiente Rivadavia in Mendoza and won the shootout 5-4, with two saves from their goalkeeper.
- Interim coach Marcão's team will face the winner of the Coquimbo Unido-Platense series, to be decided on Wednesday, in the quarterfinals.
Fluminense are through to the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals after a night that had it all: an early second-half sending-off, a goal scored with ten men, a stoppage-time penalty and a shootout that stretched into sudden death. At the Malvinas Argentinas, the Rio side drew 1-1 with Independiente Rivadavia — after the 0-0 first leg in Rio de Janeiro — and claimed their place from the spot, with Fábio as the hero.
The first half was tight and scrappy. Fluminense controlled the ball but rarely threatened; 'La Lepra' had more attempts, though they hardly ever found the target. The match turned 12 minutes into the second half, when Agustín Canobbio picked up a second yellow card and left the visitors with ten men for the entire final half hour.
The response from Marcão, the interim coach who took over last week following Zubeldía's departure, came from the bench. On 66 minutes he made a double change — Luciano Acosta for Ganso and Kevin Serna for Hulk — and nine minutes later it paid off: Serna latched onto a pass from Hércules from the halfway line, burst in at the right edge of the box, went one-on-one and finished low across goal without hesitation. The Colombian had made it 1-0 with ten men, just as he had scored on Saturday in the comeback win over Palmeiras, in the interim coach's Brasileirão debut.
Independiente Rivadavia threw everything at it. Berti emptied his bench in search of an equalizer and the reward came with the very last play: in the 90+7th minute, after a VAR review, referee Rojas penalized Ignácio's handball from a goal-bound Studer strike. Arce, the tournament's top scorer with eight goals, did not flinch: he drove his penalty firmly to the right of Fábio, who had dived the other way, and sent the tie to a shootout.
That is where the man of the night stepped up. Fábio saved the third kick from Florentín, Acosta dragged his effort wide, and the shootout reached sudden death level at four apiece: Guga converted Fluminense's sixth before the goalkeeper stretched out once more to deny Rodrigo Atencio and seal the 5-4 win. 'La Lepra' bowed out of the Copa without losing a single match, on their feet and applauded by their fans.
With their place secured, Fluminense now look ahead to the quarterfinals, where the winner of the series between Coquimbo Unido and Platense awaits. That tie is wide open: it finished 1-1 in the first leg in Vicente López and will be decided on Wednesday, from 6:00 p.m. (Argentina time), in Coquimbo. What remains unchanged is the dream: the Rio side are still in the race for La Gloria Eterna.
Match facts:
- Fluminense have reached the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals in seven of the eight times they have played in the Round of 16, including each of the last six occasions in the continental tournament.
- Fluminense have been involved in four penalty shootouts in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. After being eliminated in the first two (vs. Quito in 2008 and vs. Olimpia in 2022), they have won the last two (vs. Grêmio in 2024 and today against Rivadavia).
- Fluminense are unbeaten in their last five CONMEBOL Libertadores matches (W2 D3), their best run without defeat in the competition since a 14-game streak between June 2023 and May 2024.
- Álex Arce of Independiente Rivadavia has scored nine goals in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores, making him the tournament's top scorer. Today's was his second penalty goal in the competition, after one against Junior while playing for LDU Quito.
- Kevin Serna scored his first goal for Fluminense in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, his third overall in the competition. His two previous goals came for Alianza Lima against his current club — and today's was the first he has scored as a substitute.
