Fluminense Vs. Argentinos Juniors: 4-2 Full Time, Flu Advance, Brawl Ensues

I’m going to be honest, I don’t even know where to start. This was an incredibly bizarre game across the board. Here’s the short version: Fluminense got a bogus penalty, scored it, and went through to the knockout stages of Copa Libertadores. After the final whistle, Argentinos Juniors started a brawl, in which Fluminense were willing participants. Wow.

The first half ended with Fluminense up 2-1. It was a nice score line, but they knew they needed another goal to go through. Nacional were drawing against America 0-0 at the time, a result which they held on to. That meant that Flu had to win the game by two, and after Argentinos scored in the 54th minute, that looked impossible.

In the 68th minute, Rafael Moura made things interesting with a goal. Of course, no one knew at the time that “made things interesting” would turn into “made absolute nonsense and insanity possible,” but we would get there eventually.

In the 88th minute, the referee gave an absolutely ridiculous penalty to Fluminense. Nicolás Gastón Navarro was called for the foul and shown a yellow card, but the man he “fouled,” Edinho, committed a clear dive on the play. In any event, Fred stepped up and converted, sending Fluminense through.

Of course, Argentinos couldn’t take the loss like adults, and instead decided to start a giant brawl, complete with punches and karate kicks. This, despite the fact that, had the penalty not been given, Argentinos would have been out of the competition anyway. The bad call only affects Uruguayan side Nacional, who are now out of Copa Libertadores.