Palmeiras have triumphed in the Copa Libertadores for the second year in a row after beating Brazilian rivals Flamengo 2-1 in Montevideo. Deyverson scored the winning goal in the 95th minute.
Palmeiras opened the scoring after just five minutes through Raphael Veiga, but Gabriel Barbosa equalized in the second half for Flamengo, the 2019 winners of the Copa Libertadores.
An error from on-loan Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira paved Deyverson’s way to his match-winning goal in the 95th minute.
Palmeiras have now won the most prestigious club competition in South America three times. The final at Stadio Centenario was only the fifth opposing teams from the same country in the tournament’s 61-year history. It was the first-ever Libertadores showpiece to feature the winners of the previous two editions.
In 2020, Palmeiras won the accolade after beating another Brazilian rival of theirs, Santos.
Gabriel Barbosa, Inter’s ex-striker, finished as this season’s leading marksman in the Libertadores, with 11 goals under his belt.
Palmeiras are the first club to win back-to-back titles since Boca Juniors did it 20 years ago.
Deyverson or DIVERson?
Along with his match-winning goal, Deyverson created another viral moment in the final seconds of the encounter. The attacker tried to put a halt to Flamengo’s attempts of equalizing and went down after being touched on the back by the referee.
Deyverson’s decisive goal against Flamengo was the only one he scored in the whole Libertadores campaign.
The atmosphere at the Centenario in the Uruguayan capital was electric throughout the game, as tens of thousands created a pre-pandemic vibe in the stands.