The story will remember the Gabigol era and Bruno Henrique as one of the most remarkable in Flamengo. The pair was once again decisive in another classification for the Libertadores final, the second in three years. And this time, the alternation of protagonism came with game sequences in which one and then the other resolved the matches.
If in the 2019 edition the “King of America” Gabigol scored nine times and was the top scorer in the tournament, while Bruno Henrique was a kind of supporting player, with five goals, in 2021 the spotlights are divided. Gabi has already passed the mark that year with 10 goals, and the same happens with Bruno Henrique, who reached six. Four in the semifinals, equaling Pelé’s feat. In 1963, the King scored four goals in the semifinals against Botafogo.
This year, Flamengo’s forwards had each one of their moments in the tournament. Gabigol left his mark in the first four matches, when he scored six goals. Afterwards, it passed four blank games. He then netted twice in the next two quarter-final games. And in the semi, he was more of a waiter than a scorer.
Deputy top scorer of the team, Bruno Henrique, was the guy in the knockout games. Of the six goals, four of them were scored in the semifinals, two in each game. Before, he had scored one in the second game of the quarterfinals. In the four previous games, two qualifiers and two in the group stage, they have gone unnoticed. The only times the pair scored goals in the same game were against Olímpia, in a 5-1 rout in Rio, and against LDU, in a 3-2 victory in Ecuador.
In 2019, Bruno Henrique scored goals against Grêmio, one in each semifinal game, Inter, two in the first game, and LDU, in the group stage. Gabi, before the two in the final against River, scored two in the return against Grêmio, in the semi, one in the return against Inter, in the quarterfinals, two against Emelec, in the round of 16, and one against LDU and San José , in the group stage. The only time the two forwards scored goals in the same game was in the 5-0 over Grêmio.
The fusion movement that Gabi and BH use in the commemoration is not for nothing. Complementary strikers, who understand each other without vanity and selfishness, and make Flamengo be on another level for another season
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