Flamengo defeats Cruz Azul with a brace from Arrascaeta in the Intercontinental Cup.

Brazilian side Flamengo defeated Mexican side Cruz Azul 2-1 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Qatar, in a second-round match of the Intercontinental Cup, and are now just one step away from the final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite being a quarter-final match of the Intercontinental Cup, FIFA decided to award trophies in all matches; in this case, it was the Derby of the Americas, with the winner of the Copa Libertadores facing the winner of the Concacaf Champions League.

Flamengo started better, but with a setback, when Bruno Henrique blasted the ball away in an attempt to shoot. The truth is that the Rio team, with a high defensive line, caused many problems for the Mexicans and ended up opening the scoring in the 14th minute with a goal from the unstoppable Arrascaeta, taking advantage of a glaring error by Piovi.

Cruz Azul equalized just before halftime with Jorge Sánchez, formerly of FC Porto, scoring from outside the box after a Flamengo clearance that fell short.

In the second half, with former Sporting player Gonzalo Plata replacing former Gil Vicente player Samuel Lino, Flamengo came back stronger and regained the lead in the 71st minute with another goal from Arrascaeta after a well-executed play by former Benfica player Everton Cebolinha.

The score remained open until the end, but it was Flamengo who secured a spot in the Intercontinental Cup semifinals and won the Derby of the Americas.

In the Intercontinental Cup semi-final, Flamengo will face Egyptian side Pyramids, the winner of the African Champions League, next Saturday. The winner of this match will then play for the title against Paris Saint-Germain, the European champion, in a final scheduled for December 17th.