Fluminense fall to Flamengo, Penarol ready for Nacional in South America

One major rivalry took place in Brazil. Another is setting up to be epic in Uruguay. Read about all of this week’s news on soccer in South America.

Action took place throughout most of South America over the weekend, though there was no soccer at the far end of the Southern Cone as both Argentina and Chile took league breaks. Otherwise, there was plenty of action to follow across the continent.

In several cases, teams were either playing out rivalries or preparing for them. A key match at South America’s second-largest stadium offered a prime example of ancient enmity played out on the pitch. Further south down the Atlantic coast, two inter-city powerhouses tried to keep focused on the task at hand instead of looking ahead to their derby on the third weekend of October.

What are the biggest takeaways from soccer in South America this weekend? Let’s look at a few of the major stories that transpired over the weekend in South America’s various leagues.

Flamengo take down Fluminense at the Maracana

It’s a rivalry borne of dissatisfaction. More than a century ago, back in 1911, a group of players splintered off from Fluminense and went to start a soccer team at Flamengo, which was still focused primarily on the rowing club on which it was founded. Ever since, the two clubs have met as rivals on the soccer pitch.

Saturday marked the 406th match between Flamengo and Fluminense. The showdown at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro proved to be one-sided this time, as Flamengo dropped their rivals 3-0 to keep pace in the Serie A standings.

The catalyst for the victory was Colombian striker Fernando Uribe. After three seasons in Liga MX with Toluca, the 30-year-old Uribe moved back to South America and joined up with the Brazilian powerhouse. His presence proved critical on Saturday.

Uribe scored the opening goal in the 11th minute. Leo Duarte scored the second in first-half stoppage time to put Flamengo up 2-0 at the break. Uribe completed his brace by racking up the third goal of the match just after the second-half restart.

With the decisive win, Flamengo kept themselves within four points of Palmeiras and only a point behind Internacional. Fluminense remained 18 points behind their rival and 22 points off the pace in the Serie A table.

Penarol up four points on Nacional ahead of Superclasico Uruguayo

When there’s a major derby coming up on the schedule, there’s always a danger of falling into a trap the week before the big match. With the Superclasico Uruguayo on the horizon for Penarol and Nacional, the two teams at the top of the Primera standings in Uruguay, they needed to avoid looking ahead and stay on task.

Penarol had no issue with Fenix, winning 2-0 at home on Saturday to stay clear at the top of the league. Darwin Nunez scored the first goal just seven minutes into the match to put the hosts up against Fenix. Giovanni Gonzalez added an insurance goal in the 70th minute, making sure that the league leaders stayed at least a point clear of their rivals.

Nacional had no such luck on Sunday. For most of the match, the two clubs were deadlocked at nil-nil on the scoreboard. Then they dropped their guard in the waning moments, as Robert Ergas snatched away all three points for Boston River in the 90th minute.

As a result, Penarol are guaranteed to remain atop the Uruguayan table no matter what happens next weekend in the Superclasico against Nacional. A Nacional win would pull them within one point of their rivals in the standings.

The race tightened up at the top in Ecuador

On Friday, Macara and Delfin split the points in a 1-1 draw that relegated the latter to third in Ecuador’s Serie A. Henry Canga earned a yellow card after committing a foul in the box in the 62nd minute, which gave Macara the opportunity to take the lead on Galo Corozo’s penalty. But William Riveros pulled Delfin level in the 92nd minute and opened the door for things to get even tighter at the top of the table.

Aucas seized the opportunity on Saturday, as Edson Montano racked up a hat-trick against El Nacional to earn a 3-2 victory. Angel Gracia put El Nacional ahead in the 13th minute. Then Montano scored the first of his three goals in the 23rd minute, then put Aucas ahead four minutes later as Montano successfully converted a penalty.

Montano got insurance in the 64th minute as he completed his hat-trick. It proved critical, as El Nacional pulled back within a goal in the 86th minute when Manu Balda found the back of the net. But time ran out for the visitors, as Aucas held on to win and leapfrog over Delfin into second behind Macara.

Delfin and Aucas meet next week to see which one stays in the hunt behind Macara. Meanwhile, the league leaders face fifth-place Emelec — only four points back currently. With only eight matchdays left in the Clausura, there’s still plenty of time for any of the favorites to break out and run away with the title.