April 9 – Defending champions Flamengo have opened their Copa Libertadores campaign with a 2-0 win against Peru’s Cusco.
With second-half headers, Bruno Henrique and Giorgian de Arrascaeta ensured Flamengo overcame the altitude of 3350 metres and claimed all three points in their curtain-raiser of the new Libertadores season.
Manager Leonardo Jardim praised his players’ attitude, saying: “In general terms, we were the more offensive team, the one that created the most goalscoring opportunities. Playing at altitude isn’t easy, even for Flamengo, given its stature. I had a report that showed we only had five wins in 18 games at altitude. Therefore, I’d like to highlight the commitment, attitude, and professionalism they showed in the game.”
Group A also contains Independiente Medellin of Colombia and Estudiantes of Argentina, and they drew their match, leaving Flamengo top of the group. Jardim added: “My speech to the players was very simple and direct. We know that the group stage is very difficult; Flamengo had difficulties last year.
“I also had difficulties when I won the Asian Champions League. We have to do our thing on the field. The opponents will make it difficult, the pitches are bad, there’s the altitude, there’s the refereeing… But we are Flamengo, we have to put our strength into practice.”
Last year, Flamengo defeated Palmeiras 1-0 in an-all Brazilian final in Peru, Lima. It was the fifth final involving only Brazilian clubs in six years. River Plate were the last non-Brazilian team to win South America’s premier club competition in 2018.
This year, Brazil’s clubs will again be the favourites. On opening night, they remained undefeated. Mirassol debuted with a 1-0 win against Lanus of Argentina, prompting Globo to describe it as “the greatest evening in the club’s history”. Mirassol hail from the interior of the state of Sao Paulo but were too strong for the 2025 and 2026 Copa Sudamericana champions, who have developed a reputation for upsetting Brazilian clubs. Cruzeiro defeated Barcelona of Ecuador 1-0, but Palmeiras were held to a 1-1 draw by Junior of Colombia. Today, Sao Paulo giants Corinthians travel to Platense in Argentina.
The 2026 Copa Libertadores winners will receive $25 million in prize money and could generate a total of $40 million throughout the competition. The victors will also claim a ticket to the 2029 Club World Cup. Uruguay’s legendary Centenario stadium will host the final on 28 November.
Contact the writer of this story Samindra Kunti at [email protected]