Fluminense clinches the Copa Libertadores title in a nail-biting finale

In the thrilling Copa Libertadores final on Saturday, Fluminense defeated Boca Juniors to win the trophy for the first time in their history.

German Cano, a seasoned striker, gave the Brazilians the early lead in the first half by brushing home a one-time effort.

With a spectacular long-range goal to tie the score, Luis Advincula forced extra time.

John Kennedy, a replacement, scored the game’s winning goal in the extra time before receiving a second card and being dismissed.

The Brazilian attacker, who was already in possession of a yellow card, was ejected when he returned to the pitch after racing off to celebrate the historic goal with the crowd.

After that, Fluminense had to fight with just ten players to defeat Boca Juniors, the six-time champions, although the Argentines also saw a reduction in strength when Frank Fabra was sent off for slapping Nino.

All of it culminated in a fierce conclusion to a match that had been simmering for some time prior to Fluminense’s triumph in extra time.Since the final was held in Fluminense’s stadium, the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, this was essentially a home game for them.

However, Boca had a sizable backing of their own, since tens of thousands had travelled from Argentina.

The Copa Libertadores final, which is South America’s version of the Champions League final in Europe, is usually a fiery event, but this one took a bit to heat up on the pitch before blowing up in tense and dramatic extra time.

Kennedy’s goal, which he scored with an incredible 18-yard finish and an unstoppable drive into the net, was worthy of winning any final.

His celebrations were short-lived, though, as the referee gave him a second yellow card for entering the crowd, which presented Boca with what seemed to be the ideal chance to capitalise on a numerical advantage.

However, as the challenges got stronger, a collision between the two groups of players led to Fabra receiving a red card as well after hitting Nino in the face.

Boca’s prospects of forcing a penalty shootout were severely damaged by that, and despite controlling the ball, Fluminense came the closest to scoring once more when Guga’s attempt struck the crossbar.

There were tense last minutes to the highlight match, but Fluminense held strong, and there were wild celebrations both on and off the pitch as the final whistle was blown.

BBC