- The 'Flu' won 2-0 at home with goals from Nonato and Hulk, both in the first half.
- The 'Calamar' had more than a dozen scoring chances but lacked efficiency and will need to sharpen their aim ahead of the return leg.
For twenty minutes, the Maracanã was an uncomfortable place for Fluminense. Platense, who are playing the first CONMEBOL Libertadores in their history, stood toe to toe in Rio de Janeiro, were never troubled and even produced the only shot on target of the opening stretch. The Rio 'Tricolor' had the ball — nearly three-quarters of possession — but could not find a way to hurt them. Until the 'Calamar' made one mistake at the back, and that was enough for the 'Flu's' class to rewrite the night.
In the 21st minute, an error in Platense's build-up left the ball at Hulk's feet in midfield, and with one pass he set Nonato up face to face with goal. The midfielder ran with the ball under control and slotted it between the legs of Juan Pablo Cozzani for 1-0. Ten minutes later, Hulk himself went from provider to scorer: Paulo Henrique Ganso played him in, the 40-year-old striker cut into the box down the left and finished across goal with his left foot, giving the Argentine goalkeeper no chance. Two shots on target, two goals: Fluminense were surgical in the stretch that decided the first leg, on their first two arrivals.
Martín Palermo's side did not fall apart. With Nicolás Retamar and Bruno Sepúlveda as attacking references, the 'Calamar' grew as the second half went on and ended up shooting far more than their opponents — thirteen attempts to four — but with the opposite efficiency to the hosts: only one of those shots hit the target. Palermo went to his bench early, bringing on Bautista Merlini and Juan Gauto before the hour mark, and in the 39th minute of the second half sent on Franco Zapiola, his top scorer in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, in search of a goal back that never came.
Marcão, for his part, managed the game: he withdrew Ganso 15 minutes into the second half and, 32 minutes in, made a triple substitution that also saw Hulk leave the pitch to a standing ovation, with a goal and an assist in his first quarterfinal match in a Fluminense shirt. At the back, the defensive line showed no cracks, with Thiago Silva — a starter once again at 41 — and Fábio as its standard-bearers. In doing so, the 'Flu' confirmed a trend already flagged before the match: unbeaten at home in CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals and with a perfect record at the Maracanã with fans in attendance.
The tie remains open, but the math is clear for the visitors: Platense will need to win by two goals in Vicente López to force penalties, and by three to reach the semifinals outright. For a team that has already eliminated Coquimbo Unido from the penalty spot, a shootout is not unfamiliar territory. For Fluminense, finalists in 2008 and champions in 2023, the advantage bears a veteran's name: Hulk, who at 40 showed once again that on the big nights he is still the first to show up.
The match in numbers:
- Fluminense fielded the oldest starting XI of the current CONMEBOL Libertadores: 33 years and 124 days.
- Fluminense ended a run of six matches without a win against Argentine teams in CONMEBOL competitions (2D 4L). Their last victory had come against Boca in the 2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores final, played, like tonight, at the Maracanã.
- Fluminense have lost just one of their last 29 home matches in CONMEBOL competitions (22W 6D). They have also kept a clean sheet in seven of their last eleven matches at home.
- At 40 years and 45 days, Hulk (Fluminense) became the oldest player to score and assist in the same match in CONMEBOL competitions since at least 2013, surpassing San José's Carlos Saucedo, who did so at 39 years and 226 days against Peñarol in the 2019 CONMEBOL Libertadores.
- Since his return to South America in February 2021, no player has provided more assists in CONMEBOL competitions than Hulk, with a total of 14: 13 for Atlético Mineiro and one, tonight, for Fluminense.
- It was Platense's match in the CONMEBOL Libertadores with the biggest positive differential between shots taken (13) and conceded (4). However, they generated 0.88 expected goals (xG) against Fluminense's 1.37 xG.
