It has come down to one single match to determine the winner of the 2022 Copa Libertadores, and to keep things the way they were, two Brazilian teams will fight for the ultimate cup competition in South American football.
Flamengo have been rendered as the massive favorites to win this match, as the Rubro-Negro return to the title clash after losing the 2021 edition to Palmeiras and following their win against River Plate in 2019. The team coached by Dorival Junior will have most of their top players available for this match, including goalscorers Pedro and Gabigol, who will be flanked by an all-star cast featuring David Luiz, Filipe Luis, Erick Pulgar, Everton Ribeiro, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, and Arturo Vidal.
On the other hand, Athletico-PR return to their first Copa Libertadores final since 2005, when they were destroyed by Sao Paulo with a four-nil score. This time, the team led by the legendary Luiz Felipe Scolari will ty to enter the competition's history with a squad featuring players such as Marlos, Fernandinho, Agustín Canobbio, and Vitinho, one of the most explosive players in South America.
Flamengo are playing to win their third Copa Libertadores title, while Paranaense will want to show the world that a lot has changed since their defeat in 2005, their only appearance in the Copa Libertadores Final.
Let us have a look at how these teams got to this game.
Flamengo vs Athletico-PR - Team news
Flamengo enter this match after a nearly perfect group stage, where they only dropped one point and won five matches. Since then, the team coached by Dorival Junior has won every single KO stage match, including both semi-finals against Vélez Sarsfield, which added up for a 6-1 aggregate. To top it all, Flamengo enter the match with Pedro being the tournament's top scorer with 12 goals to his name.
Athletico Paranaense make it to the championship match after struggling in the group stage, where they won half their games and lost two. Once the KO Stage began, Paranaense began to show a better brand of football, and that momentum saw them eliminate Libertad (3-2 aggregate), Estudiantes (1-0 aggregate), and the two-time defending champions Palmeiras with a 3-2 aggregate score.
Flamengo - Injured: Rodrigo Caio, Bruno Henrique.
Athletico-PR - Injured: Marcelo Cirino.
Flamengo vs Athletico-PR: Head-to-head
-
This will be the third Copa Libertadores clash between these teams in the past decade. Each team won one of those matches with similar 2-1 scores.
-
The most recent league match between these teams ended in a five-nil win for Flamengo back in August 2022.
-
Athletico-PR have not been able to defeat Flamengo in their last three meetings (one draw, two losses).
-
This will be the first Copa Libertadores match between these clubs since 2017.
-
This will be the third Copa Libertadores final in a row that will be played exclusively by Brazilian teams and the fifth in tournament history.
Broadcast info: Flamengo vs Athletico-PR
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
