It was not the best of performances from Flamengo but they held on for a point against Velez at Maracanã on Thursday night. The result ensured that Fla ended their group stage campaign in first place and the fifth overall best group campaign in the Libertadores so far.
After securing a first place group finish, Flamengo will be in pot 1 of the round of 16 draw in the Libertadores. For their possible opponents, they could face teams, Boca Juniors, River Plate and fellow Brazilian side São Paulo.
In a game that was rather dull and without much energy, the major talking point was perhaps the behavior of Gerson. He was replaced in the second half and left the pitch visibly angry, and his reaction was picked up by the cameras. We already reported that he is in advanced talks with Marseille and his days with Flamengo might be numbered.
In the absence of Arão and Bruno Henrique though with the return of Diego Alves, Fla started the game on a rather slow note and showed no composure in attack and any real threat. Infact, Velez were more decisive in the half and it was no surprise they finished that half with better possession. In the latter stages of the game, Flamengo got better and started to gain hold of the match but there was no breakthrough at the end and they settled for a share of the spoils.
Something to worry about?
After starting the Libertadores on an impressive note with three consecutive victories, Flamengo seemed to be out of tune in their most recent games. They have now recorded three draws from their last three Libertadores games, with two of them coming at Maracanã.
