August 21 – Defending champions Fluminense advanced to the last eight of the Copa Libertadores after winning a penalty shootout 4-2 against Brazilian rivals Gremio.
The Rio club became the first club to reach the quarter-finals of the competition tying the encounter with a 2-1 win in regular time and prevailing in the penalty shootout with goalkeeper Fabio saving spot kicks from Nathan and Cristaldo for a 4-2 victory. Last week, Fluminense lost the first leg 2-1.
Fluminense dominated at the Maracana with goals from Thiago Silva and Arias before Gustavo Nunes pulled a goal back that took the tie to extra time.
“The team deserved to advance to the quarterfinals,” said Fluminense manager Mano Menezes at a news conference.
“This progress will certainly have positive effects on the Brazilian league. We already have the 7th best campaign in the second half of the season and people forget. ‘Oh, it’s not good…’ How is it not good? In the last six or seven games, we won five. It’s taking a while to get out of the last four places because we were stuck there, so it’s taking a while. We need to continue with this performance.”
Menezes succeeded Fernando Diniz as manager when Fluminense were bottom of the table in the Serie A and the club have struggled to move out of the relegation zone since. The Rio side sit 18th on 21 points, a point from safety. Last season, Diniz led Fluminense to their first-ever Copa Libertadores victory with a 2-1 extra-time victory against Boca Juniors in the final.
Eliminating Gremio, Fluminense have a new window of opportunity to achieve more continental success and in the quarter-finals, in another all-Brazilian affair, Menezes and his team meet Atletico Mineiro who eliminated San Lorenzo of Argentina over two legs.
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