Flamengo came back twice to beat Vélez Sarsfield 3-2, in their first group stage match of the Libertadores.
Janson opened up the scoring for Vélez in the 21st minute and grabbed his second of the night few minutes after the break, while Aaron, Gabigol and Arrascaeta were all on target to turn the game around.
Rubro-Negro started the game on the upper foot, but couldn’t get their shooting effective enough to put the ball into the back of the net.
However, in the 21st minute, it was the home side that drew first blood. Janson stroke first and put his side in the lead. It only took a moment of brilliance from Gerson, who found Aaron in the middle to draw level before the break.
In a quick transition after the break, Flamengo made a defensive mistake, gifting Janson the ball to put his side in the lead once again.
Minutes later, Gabigol was awarded a penalty, in which he scored to put his team level again on the score sheet.
It was not in any way the best performance for Flamengo but a free kick that was turned in by Arrascaeta helped the visitors turn the game around in their favour.
Right before the end of the game, Mancuello, a former Flamengo player, fouled Velez and was shown a red card. It brought the game to a good climax, ending 3-2 in the visitors’ favor.
Flamengo returns to the pitch on next Tuesday to face Unión La Calera, but will have to get past Volta Redonda for the Guanabara Cup on Saturday.
