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Arturo Vidal fueled the controversy that surrounded the Vélez Sarsfield and Flamengo match in the Copa Libertadores. The midfielder took to the field at the José Amalfitani stadium in the second half and after his team's fourth goal, he didn't hesitate to address the local fans.
The cameras of ESPN, the day after the first leg of the semifinal played in Argentina, captured all the details of the fiery match. Then, during the review, they found a detail related to the always controversial 'King Arturo'. The Chilean celebrated the 4-0 with his teammates and, in passing, dedicated it to the fans of Vélez.
Pedro, scorer of a hat-trick in the match, scored Flamengo's fourth goal and headed to the sidelines to celebrate. While the star of the field waited for his teammates, the camera showed the former Barcelona player and his reactions. First, the 'King' greeted captain Everton Ribeiro, who had scored one of the goals.
While Ribeiro left the frame, Vidal fixed his gaze directly towards the Vélez stands. Then, the midfielder raised four fingers, referring to the number of goals scored by 'Fla'. Without a doubt, a gesture that has been taken as a challenge against the followers of 'V', who had expected a better result at home.
What did Vidal say after the match?
As mentioned, the clash between Argentinians and Brazilians had ingredients that made the game highly tense. From previous encounters in the Libertadores to the state of the field hours before the match. Pictures of Vélez's pitch in terrible conditions to prevent the visitors from displaying their best football circulated on social media.
So, with the 4-0 lead and the gesture towards the local fans, Vidal analyzed what happened. "The unity, the joy that this group has, and the quality of the team is truly incredible. Today, playing against Vélez is not easy with the field like this, but we achieved an incredible result and we hope to fulfill the expectations, which are the three titles at the end of the season," said the Chilean.
When do Vélez and Flamengo play the second leg?
Rubronegro took an important step towards reaching the final of the Copa, but they must close the tie playing at home. The second leg between Flamengo and Velez will be on Wednesday, September 7th, starting at 7:30 PM (Peruvian time) at the Maracanã stadium.
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