This Wednesday Fluminense drew 2-2 with Inter de Porto Alegre in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semifinals. It was a tense match between two Brazilian rivals who know each other well at the legendary Maracaná Stadium, which will also host the final on November 4.
With the support of its men, Fluminense opened the scoring in the first half and after 10 minutes the Argentine Germán Cano received it alone from the left and first touched the ball to put the Rio team ahead. The striker born in Lomas de Zamora was once again decisive and at the end of the game he showed his firepower again.
Inter led by Eduardo Coudet went for the tie and the game grew in intensity. It’s a stick and stick with two brave teams. They both had arrivals and the emotions grew as the minutes passed and the strong leg was on.
The friction continued and in the 29th minute, Samuel Xavier arrived at the wrong time and hit Enner Valencia in the ankle. Argentine referee Darío Herrera showed the Brazilian defender a second yellow card and left his team with ten. A little, things became complicated for those led by Fernando Diniz Silva.
In the epilogue of the first half, the Spaniard Hugo Mallo won the place between the two opponents and achieved equality with a header. First the goal was invalidated due to an offside position, but after the intervention of VAR it was possible to prove that the position of the Iberian was legal and Herrera had to correct his decision. They entered the break tied 1-1.
At the beginning of the complement, Inter took advantage of the tie and took advantage of their numerical superiority. In the first minutes he could have taken the lead with a goal from Argentine Gabriel Mercado, but the score was canceled out because the former River Plate player headed and then touched the ball with his left arm. This is another game where VAR should intervene.
Without physical rest and against a team that knows how to control the ball, Fluminense will have to back off against an Inter determined to win. In 64 minutes there was a good combination of passes from the Porto Alegre team that reached the area and Valencia surprised everyone by not hitting it and gave it to Alan Patrick, who first defined the cross and made it 2- 1 for the Gaucho team.
Although Fluminense did not give up and with a lot of self-confidence tried to get the tie. Cano was again the main protagonist in the opponent’s area and goalkeeper Sergio Rochet collided with the Argentine striker in a game where both were looking for the ball, but Herrera did not consider it necessary for a penalty.
With 12 minutes left, Cano was important again. The corner kick from the right and the middle turn he beat his marker to reach his eleventh goal and become the top scorer of the Libertadores.
Fluminense managed to remain unbeaten in 25 home games and achieved parity in a match where they had a difficult time as they played 60 minutes with ten.
Next Wednesday at the Beira-Río Stadium in Porto Alegre this key will be explained, promising another emotional battle. The winner will await the winner of the match between Boca Juniors and Palmeiras, who this Thursday will play their first match at La Bombonera, starting at 9:30 pm.
