After an eight year absence in the competition, Fluminense returned to Copa Libertadores action, with their debut coming against Argentine giants River Plate on Thursday night.
Flu put in a strong foot against River Plate in Maracanã and played out to a 1-1 draw, which was a fair result to both sides.
The Brazilian outfit fell behind early on after Montiel converted a penalty in the 13th minute to put the visitors in the lead.
Fluminense were not going to back down even after the goal and eventually got their equalizer in the second period via veteran forward Fred in the 66th minute. It was a milestone goal for Fred as he hit his 183rd goal in Flu colors and needs just one more to match Orlando Pingo de Ouro as the second highest scorer in the club’s history. He also joined the top five list of Brazilians to have scored the most in the Libertadores, with 19 goals.
Flu could have turned the game around in the closing stages but Lucca missed a golden chance to ensure both sides shared the spoils.
The draw left Fluminense and River Plate with a point in Group D of the Libertadores. The other fixture between Junior Barranquilla and Santa Fé also end in a stalemate, leaving everyone on a point.
Fluminense will play their next Libertadores game on Wednesday as they travel to Colombia to take on Santa Fé at the Metropolitan Stadium of Techo. However, they have a game before that as they will host Madureira in the Campeonato Carioca this Sunday at Maracanã. The game is valid for the last round of the Guanabara Cup. At the same time on Wednesday, River Plate will welcome Junior Barranquilla to Monumental de Nuñez for their next Libertadores clash.
