Agency :
Hotshot Gabriel Barbosa scored a brace as Flamengo hammered fellow Brazilians Gremio 5-0 on Wednesday to secure a place in the Copa Libertadores final against Argentine holders River Plate.
Bruno Henrique, Pablo Mari and Rodrigo Caio also got their names on the scoresheet as the Rio de Janeiro giants completed a 6-1 aggregate victory over the 2017 champions at the Maracana stadium.
There were ugly scenes before the match as police fired tear gas to disperse ticketless fans trying to gatecrash the party.
More than 1,000 officers were on duty a day after one person was shot dead, two others wounded and 19 arrested in a police operation in a poor Rio neighborhood targeting Flamengo supporters allegedly planning to “kill cops, steal, cause damage and embarrass Gremio fans.”
Once the game kicked off, the only fireworks came from the hosts.
River Plate secured a 2-1 aggregate victory over their bitter Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors on Tuesday despite losing the second leg 1-0.
That was a repeat of last year’s final, the second leg of which was controversially played in Madrid after the original fixture was twice postponed due to Boca players suffering cuts and smoke inhalation when their team bus came under attack from River fans.
Hotshot Gabriel Barbosa scored a brace as Flamengo hammered fellow Brazilians Gremio 5-0 on Wednesday to secure a place in the Copa Libertadores final against Argentine holders River Plate.
Bruno Henrique, Pablo Mari and Rodrigo Caio also got their names on the scoresheet as the Rio de Janeiro giants completed a 6-1 aggregate victory over the 2017 champions at the Maracana stadium.
There were ugly scenes before the match as police fired tear gas to disperse ticketless fans trying to gatecrash the party.
More than 1,000 officers were on duty a day after one person was shot dead, two others wounded and 19 arrested in a police operation in a poor Rio neighborhood targeting Flamengo supporters allegedly planning to “kill cops, steal, cause damage and embarrass Gremio fans.”
Once the game kicked off, the only fireworks came from the hosts.
River Plate secured a 2-1 aggregate victory over their bitter Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors on Tuesday despite losing the second leg 1-0.
That was a repeat of last year’s final, the second leg of which was controversially played in Madrid after the original fixture was twice postponed due to Boca players suffering cuts and smoke inhalation when their team bus came under attack from River fans.
