Brazil adds a new champion in the Copa Libertadores: Flamengo. In a direct clash between the two best South American teams at present, Mengao secured its fourth continental title after defeating Palmeiras 1-0 in a fiercely contested final.
At the start of the match, the game was extremely even, with no truly clear chances for either side, although possession and attack were more pronounced for the red and black team. In the 11th minute, the first major incident occurred with Rafa Veiga's yellow card for a scrape on Carrascal. Later, Veiga himself suffered a tough tackle from De Arrascaeta, who was also penalized with a card.
The scrappy play continued to define the match. In this context, Flamengo received its second yellow card after, in the midst of a protest over the previous foul on De Arrascaeta, Pulgar stomped on Bruno Fuchs off the ball, which also sparked controversy over a possible unissued red card. Moments later, Fla picked up another card, this time for a foul by Jorginho on Veiga.
In the second half, Mengao deepened its dominance with greater ball possession and several clear chances, although none of them managed to change the score. Meanwhile, Palmeiras held on as best it could and its attacking forays were mainly on the counter. Additionally, fouls kept coming, with Verdao picking up its second yellow card for a foul by Piquerez on his compatriot De Arrascaeta.
Only in the 67th minute, on the second shot on target of the match, Flamengo took a 1-0 lead thanks to a header from Danilo after a precise corner kick from De Arrascaeta.
After this blow, Palmeiras began to attack more in search of an equalizer, with two dangerous chances from Flaco López. At the same time, Abel Ferreira made changes to the team, substituting Elías and Veiga for Torres and Anderson, respectively, which quickly had an effect. Later, Giay and Sosa came on for the recently booked Cequeira and Khellven for Verdao, and for Mengao, Arújo replaced De Arrascaeta and then Juninho came on for Bruno Henrique.
Despite multiple attempts from the São Paulo team, it couldn't find a goal, and the pressure was taking its toll, rushing plays and committing fouls to stop Flamengo's counterattacks. One of these resulted in a dangerous free kick taken by Everton Cebolinha, which goalkeeper Carlos Miguel was able to deflect to his left post. With no time left, the match ended 1-0 in favor of the Rio de Janeiro red and black team.
After this result, Flamengo celebrated its fourth Copa Libertadores title in its history (1981, 2019, 2022, and 2025), becoming the Brazilian team with the most titles in this competition and tying Estudiantes de La Plata and River for fourth place in the overall rankings. Beyond the result, as it was a 100% Brazilian final, the five-time world champion country reached its 25th title, tying Argentina as the tournament's top winner, and also achieved its seventh consecutive champion since 2019.
