Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira took inspiration from Jose Mourinho's early-career Champions League success as he masterminded an away-goals win against Atletico Mineiro in the Copa Libertadores semi-finals.
The reigning South American champions returned to the Libertadores final with a 1-1 draw at Atletico on Tuesday, having played out a goalless first leg at home.
Eduardo Vargas' header had put the home side in front, but Dudu equalised 22 minutes from time to crucially extend Palmeiras' record-breaking unbeaten away run in the competition to 15 matches.
Abel never doubted that leveller was coming, revealing Palmeiras had planned simply to score once in order to advance.
The coach referred to Mourinho's 1-1 draw at Manchester United with Porto in 2004, in which the visitors netted in the 90th minute through Costinha to knock Alex Ferguson's men out 3-2 on aggregate. Porto went on to win the Champions League.
"I'm Portuguese with great pride, I'm European with great pride," Abel said.
"We have the best coaches in the world, like Mourinho; we have the best referees in the world, like Pedro Proenca; we have in Portugal the president with the most titles in the world [Pinto da Costa]; and we have one of the best players in the world, [Cristiano] Ronaldo.
"When you look at Ronaldo, you see great mental strength, an insatiable work discipline, wanting to win and wanting to do more and better, and that is the Portuguese mentality and the European mentality.
"This I will never abdicate. And that calm and that intelligence inspired me.
"I talked about the game between Manchester United and Porto in which Mourinho in the last second at Old Trafford made it 1-1 and [went through]. It was in this game that I was inspired.
"That's what I told our players: we have to come here to score a goal, and we're going to do it because we have had an impeccable Libertadores.
"What is sometimes lacking here in Brazil is rigour and discipline in work and daily dedication to sacrifice. They know what it means, that to win you pay a price to be in the final, and these players were willing to pay that price to be in the final."
Palmeiras had just 36.7 per cent of the possession but blocked seven of their opponents' 17 shots.
Veteran captain Felipe Melo contributed one of those and led by example as he made nine clearances, three tackles and three interceptions.
Palmeiras' reward was a second consecutive Libertadores final, becoming the fourth club to achieve that feat in the 21st century – after Boca Juniors in both 2000 and 2001 and 2003 and 2004, Sao Paulo in 2005 and 2006 and River Plate in 2018 and 2019.
They will face Flamengo or Barcelona in the showpiece, with their Brazilian rivals 2-0 up after the first leg.
Brentford sign goalkeeper Mark Flekken on four-year deal from Freiburg
Brentford have signed Netherlands goalkeeper Mark Flekken on a four-year contract.
The deal, which brings the four-times capped Flekken from Bundesliga side Freiburg, is subject to international clearance and work permit.
“We’re very happy to have signed Mark,” head coach Thomas Frank told the official Brentford website.
“He’s a player with a lot of quality who will strengthen our goalkeeper group.
“He has big experience and joins us after two great seasons with Freiburg, who have just had a top season in the Bundesliga, finishing fifth and qualifying for the Europa League.
“He was a big part of the team there and now he’s coming to us and will hopefully make the group better and the team better.
“He’s a very good shot-stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet. His distribution is very impressive.”
Flekken began his career in his native Netherlands at RKVV WDZ and Roda before moving to Germany, where he has played for Alemannia Aachen, Greuther Furth, Duisburg and Freiburg.
The 29-year-old made his Netherlands debut in March 2022 and kept 13 clean sheets in 34 Bundesliga matches – the highest tally in the division last season.
Frank has said Brentford goalkeeper David Raya could leave the club this summer after four successful seasons in West London.
But Frank warned interested parties that it will cost them £40million to sign the 27-year-old Spaniard.
Aiden McGeady leaves Hibernian following injury-disrupted season
Aiden McGeady has left Hibernian at the end of an injury-disrupted season.
The 37-year-old winger moved to Easter Road last summer on a one-year deal but two long lay-offs restricted him to just 14 appearances, the majority of which came between December and February.
Hibs announced on Wednesday that McGeady, who said in January that he had contemplated retirement when he was sidelined in the first half of the season with a knee problem, would not be staying at the club.
“I’ve enjoyed my time at Hibs and wish the lads, supporters and the staff all the best for next season,” he told the Hibs website as news of his departure was confirmed.
The former Celtic, Sunderland and Republic of Ireland winger, who is currently recovering from a torn hamstring, will leave Easter Road along with defender Mikey Devlin – who has already agreed a move to Livingston – and goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski.
Hibernian director of football Brian McDermott told the club’s website: “I would like to thank Aiden, Kevin and Mikey for their commitment and effort during their time with us. I wish them all the best for the future.”
On-loan quartet CJ Egan-Riley, Will Fish, Matthew Hoppe and Mykola Kuharevich are due to return to their parent clubs for the time being, although Hibs “are exploring the options to retain some of the loans”.
Football rumours: Tottenham and Newcastle after James Maddison and Harvey Barnes
Leicester’s James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, who have both been valued at around £40million, could stay in the Premier League while Leicester move down to the Championship.
Tottenham and Newcastle are both reportedly interested in the pair with a bidding battle to ensue over their signatures, The Sun says.
Tottenham’s have another competitor in the fight to sign former Barcelona and Spain manager Luis Enrique as Serie A Champions Napoli are interested in the 53-year-old, according to the Guardian.
The Daily Mail said Juventus were looking the most likely to sign Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic for a reported estimated transfer fee of around £20m.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchManu Kone: Liverpool are interested in the 22-year-old Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder – who is valued at around £34m – German media outlet BILD said.
Wilfried Gnonto: Italian media outlet Calciomercato said the 19-year-old Italy forward is being looked at by Premier League rivals Manchester City and Arsenal after Leeds’ relegation was confirmed.
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