Palmeiras regained the Copa Libertadores on Saturday with a 2-1 victory against Flamengo in an all-Brazilian final in Montevideo, with Deyverson scoring the extra-time winner.
Palmeiras took the lead five minutes in through Raphael Veiga, but Flamengo equalized in the second half thanks to ex-Inter Milan attacker Gabriel Barbosa.
Andreas Pereira, on loan from Manchester United, made a terrible mistake in the 95th minute, allowing Deyverson to score and give Palmeiras their second consecutive and third overall South American club title.
“Our team was very good and very focused today. We literally left our lives on the field. We had to play like this, it was a Libertadores final,” said Palmeiras captain Gustavo Gomez.
It was only the fifth final in the tournament’s 61-year history to include two clubs from the same country, and it was the first ever Libertadores showpiece to feature the champions of the previous two editions.
Palmeiras, who won the 2020 trophy in January after defeating Santos, seized the lead at the Estadio Centenario when Veiga rifled in a cutback from Mayke following a fantastic pass out of defence by Gomez.
Barbosa, who came into the final as the competition’s top scorer with ten goals, headed wide before Uruguayan Giorgian De Arrascaeta forced a fine save from Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton.
With a spectacular save to tip over from Rony early in the second half, Diego Alves kept Flamengo in the game, while former Chelsea and Arsenal defender David Luiz was denied by another excellent save from Weverton.
On 72 minutes, Flamengo’s Bruno Henrique headed a corner narrowly over, but the Rio de Janeiro club pulled level when Barbosa — nicknamed “Gabigol” — beat Weverton at his near post.
Flamengo won the 2019 final against River Plate of Argentina because to two late goals from Barbosa, although they lost a golden opportunity to win when Michael hammered wide with only Weverton to beat.
Palmeiras became the first club to win back-to-back titles since Boca Juniors in 2000-01 when Deyverson, who came on at the start of extra time, caught Pereira in possession and burst free to slot in the winner.
Deyverson had featured little in the previous two rounds but emerged as the unexpected hero, 10 months after Breno Lopes scored a 99th-minute goal with nearly the final touch against Santos.