Flamengo win Copa Libertadores after Barbosa brace sinks River

Lima: Flamengo came back from the dead to break the hearts of holders River Plate and win the Copa Libertadores in Lima on Saturday with a thrilling late brace from Gabriel Barbosa that decided the final 2-1 at the death.

Barbosa scored in the 89th minute and again in injury time to see his side bounce back from Rafael Santos Borre’s 15th-minute opener for River after a game largely dominated by the Argentine side.

After turning the game on its head in a frantic finale, Barbosa then got sent off along with River’s Ezequiel Palacios.

River had never looked like relinquishing their lead against the surprisingly slugglish Brazilians after Borre had put them ahead.

But then came Barbosa’s late show. With barely a sniff all game from a robust River defence, the Flamengo striker popped up at the far post in the last minute to tap home after good work on the left by the tireless Bruno Henrique.

Two minutes into injury time he latched onto a long ball out of defence, moving into the box before firing crisply past River keeper Franco Armani and sending Flamengo’s fans delirious.

Palacios, River’s best player, was then sent off for kicking out at Henrique, quickly joined by Inter Milan loanee Barbosa, who had sarcastically applauded the referee. The striker left the field as the South American competition’s top scorer, with nine goals.

Flamengo’s first Copa Libertadores victory in 38 years means they will go to the Club World Cup in December. “At Flamengo we have a saying: ‘to the end’. We never stop believing, because the match only ends when the referee blows his whistle,” said Henrique.

“We believed, we fought until the last minute, and we could not leave without being champions, the team deserves it so much,” he said.

The Brazilian side improved after the interval but only really got going late in the second half, having shown nothing of the attacking verve and fluid passing instilled by new Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus that had swept them to the final and to the cusp of the Brazilian championship.

Pressing high and aggressive in the tackle, River dominated the opening 45 minutes, time and again getting in behind Flamengo’s 34-year-old full-backs Rafinha and Felipe Luis.

Agence France-Presse