Palmeiras – Flamengo: Filipe Luis wins the Libertadores in his first year as a head coach (0-1)

You definitely remember Filipe Luis, after all, it has not been long since he retired after playing for Atlético de Madrid and Chelsea. You have probably seen here that he is Flamengo’s head coach. The interesting part is that he has only one year as a professional football coach and already managed to win his first continental trophy: the Copa Libertadores, against Palmeiras, the team that has been rivaling Flamengo in recent years.

Tactical analysis and match report by Marcus Arboés.

Palmeiras was racing Flamengo for the Brasileirão title but had several setbacks and a very negative oscillation after the last FIFA break. Even so, they still held onto the narrative of pulling off a historic comeback: losing 3-0 in the first leg and winning 4-0 in the second. With many obstacles, Abel Ferreira lined up the following team: Carlos Miguel in goal; the back three with Bruno Fuchs, Gustavo Gomez (Paraguay National Team) and Murilo, with Khellven as the right fullback and Piquerez (Uruguay National Team) on the left; the midfield was composed of Raphael Veiga, Andreas Pereira (former Fulham) and Allan; the attacking duo, once again, featured Flaco López (Argentina National Team) and Vitor Roque (former Barcelona).

Flamengo also had some absences and had a difficult path of matches until reaching the final. With the Brasileirão nearly secured, Filipe Luis’s team arrived with less pressure and more calm for the matchup, lined up with their best available: Rossi as goalkeeper; Varela, Danilo (former Juventus), Léo Pereira and Alex Sandro (former Juventus) as defenders; Pulgar and Jorginho (former Chelsea and Arsenal) as holding midfielders, with Arrascaeta (Uruguay National Team) and Carrascal (Colombia) playing inside; Samuel Lino (former Atleti) on the left wing and Bruno Henrique as the striker completed the starting eleven.

The tactical duel of the rematch

Four years later, Flamengo had the chance to face Palmeiras again, who beat them in the 2021 Libertadores final. In that match, Abel Ferreira was already the club’s coach, while Filipe Luis was still a Flamengo player. But this wasn’t the only reunion: midfielder Andreas Pereira played for Flamengo in that final and was responsible for the mistake that gave the title to Palmeiras. Today, he lost once again, now wearing the other shirt.

Filipe Luis was always known as “a coach on the field”, a left-back with incredible tactical reading. After retiring, he said he returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo and that it would not make sense to play for any other club, since this was his childhood team. He became a coach, won the U20 Club World Cup with the team and was promoted to the senior side, where he won the Copa do Brasil and the State Championship. Now, he won his first continental competition, but faced a very strong opponent at Lima, Peru.

Palmeiras defending in a 4-1-3-2 shape, blocking Flamengo’s short buildup within their positional play structure.

The first half of the final had few chances and little inspiration, even though Flamengo dictated the tempo. Both teams lacked creativity in attack, and since Flamengo held more possession, this happened due to Abel Ferreira’s excellent strategies to disrupt Filipe Luis’s buildup patterns from the first phase.

As usual, Flamengo’s buildup, when pressed high, is structured in a 4-2-4 or 4-2-3-1 formation, seeking positional advantages through third-man dynamics, generally trying to create depth with long balls to the forwards after finding Arrascaeta or Carrascal behind the second pressing line. Palmeiras had suffered with this in previous clashes.

To block Jorginho and Pulgar’s ability to build, Abel Ferreira set a line of three players dividing the marking block between midfielders and fullbacks, always shifting the pressing directionally toward the side Flamengo intended to exit through. If Palmeiras suffered with Arrascaeta in the previous game, Abel corrected it this time by adding an extra defender, Bruno Fuchs, acting like a midfielder in the high press to follow Arrascaeta individually, while still maintaining numerical superiority in the defensive line to avoid issues with depth attacks.

This scenario forced Flamengo to attempt long balls many times, but very few were actually effective in the first half. Their best attacking sequences came in fast breaks, but not direct play, because once in the attacking third they faced a disciplined deep block.

Flamengo’s positional attack in a 3-2-5 outline, with Varela advancing wide, against a Palmeiras defense in a 5-3-2 formation.

Both in the first and second halves, up until Danilo’s goal, Flamengo attempted to attack this way: positioning themselves in the final third in a 3-2-5 shape, following positional principles, with Alex Sandro joining the defensive line, Jorginho and Pulgar acting as connectors and Varela (who was the best player on the pitch) pushing wide on the right, with Arrascaeta and Carrascal occupying the between-the-lines zones and creating passing options. Their dynamics were interesting to manipulate Palmeiras’s individual marking, but did not create chances or early goals.

Abel Ferreira’s team defended through individual matchups in a 5-3-2 formation, with the wingbacks, Piquerez and Khellven, dropping into the back line of three, and Andreas Pereira, Veiga and Allan joining a block with Vitor Roque and Flaco López shifting to match Flamengo’s structure. This protected Palmeiras from Flamengo’s width and central connections, forcing the opponent to attack from the outside. However, defending with Veiga, Allan and Andreas, who are more offensive players, is far from ideal.

In quick transitions and counterattacks, the first half also stood out because Pulgar was not sent off after stepping into Bruno Fuchs with his studs while the game was stopped, which generated debate, but it would not have fundamentally changed the match, since Palmeiras offered very little besides solid defending.

Danilo becomes a legend

If you remember Filipe Luis in the Brazilian National Team, you probably remember Danilo as well. To this day, the defender, once a right-back, continues to be called up to defend Brazil’s yellow and green colors and now plays under his former teammate. In another Flamengo vs Palmeiras final, the hero was unlikely.

After a beautiful corner delivery from Arrascaeta, Danilo exploited a gap in Palmeiras’s zonal marking to rise completely unmarked and head the ball with class, scoring the goal that secured the title for Flamengo. It is the second time Danilo scores a title-winning goal in a Libertadores final, even as a defender. He did it before with Santos.

If he was already in the exclusive group of players who have won both the Champions League and Libertadores, he can now be considered someone who has won the Libertadores and Champions League twice, besides being an exemplary figure on and off the pitch. Still, the match was not over yet, and he would be crucial again.

Palmeiras in a positional attack with wide overloads, playing in a 3-1-6 outline against Flamengo’s defense in a 4-4-2 shape.

Flamengo made few initial substitutions, bringing on Juninho for Bruno Henrique, Everton Cebolinha for Samuel Lino and the main change was Luiz Araújo replacing Arrascaeta, who could not keep up with the intensity of the marking. These changes improved Flamengo’s defensive coverage, with the wingers tracking the last defensive line.

On the other hand, Abel Ferreira made structural changes to take more risks, bringing Sosa on for Murilo to have two players on the left side, him and Felipe Anderson, who had replaced Raphael Veiga. Giay replaced Khellven at right fullback and Facundo Torres entered as right winger in Allan’s place. This reorganized the team into a 3-1-6 shape, with only one central midfielder to assist in ball circulation.

With wide overloads, Palmeiras forced several plays from the flanks, but very few were actually dangerous. In their best one, a cross from the left was recycled back into the center, and Vitor Roque had a clear chance to equalize late in the match, but the unlikely hero, who is not even a starter, Danilo, intercepted to block the shot, saving the play that could have changed the outcome.

Takeaways

Danilo secured the Libertadores title for Flamengo with a headed goal and a crucial defensive save, entering history as a South American football legend, while Filipe Luís continues to produce Guardiola-like numbers, stacking major titles in his first year as a professional coach. This week, he can equal Jorge Jesus, Flamengo’s legendary coach, by lifting the Libertadores and Brasileirão trophies within the same week. Flamengo faces Ceará on Wednesday at Maracanã.

On the other side, five points behind, Palmeiras may end the year with their third runners-up finish. They were runners-up in the São Paulo State Championship, runners-up in the Libertadores and will likely be runners-up in the Brasileirão. To avoid this, they must win their remaining matches and hope Flamengo draws and loses. The first step is beating Atlético Mineiro, also on Wednesday.

Who will win the Brasileirão?