Jhon Arias led Fluminense’s victory in the Brazilian Cup and reached a record

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Arias started with Fluminense and converted a penalty in the third round game of the Brazilian Cup – credit @FluminenseFC/X

Throughout the last week, rumors have circulated of an imminent departure of Colombian Jhon Arias towards European football. In principle, the Scottish Rangers – in which Oscar Cortés currently plays – are sounding strongly, but names like Sevilla and Atlético de Madrid have also appeared among the rumors.

With this panorama, the Fluminense and Colombia national team winger continues to demonstrate notable performance on the playing field, waiting to resolve his future. With the Flu he continues to affirm his place as one of the leaders of the team led by Fernando Diniz, and he left new evidence of this in the Brazil Cup.

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This Wednesday, May 1, the current Copa Libertadores champion played the first leg of the third round of the Brazilian Cup against Sampaio Correa, from the third division. The former América de Cali and Independiente Santa Fe started the game played at the Kleber José de Andrade stadium and from the first minute he was incisive in attack along with his teammates, seeking to open the scoring as soon as possible.

Arias had the chance to open the scoring in the 10th minute after overcoming the rival defense, but goalkeeper Luiz Felipe Ventura prevented it. At 18 minutes he tried again with a powerful shot that the goalkeeper stopped. Finally, in the 33rd minute the scoring was opened by the Uruguayan David Terans, who touched a mid-range shot by Vinicius Moreira of Lima with which they finally broke Ventura’s resistance. Arias had a new chance at the end of the first half after once again surpassing the defense, but Ventura once again prevented the Colombian from scoring.

In the complementary part the script was maintained: the Flu attacked with everything while the local did not know how to respond to Arias who was active on the wing and generated constant imbalance on the left. Then, in the 83rd minute, in one of those attacks, the Colombian was knocked down inside the area and the maximum penalty was called after the intervention of the VAR.

Arias took charge of the charge and, making a save in the middle of his career, finished with the inside edge of his right foot and deceived the goalkeeper to seal the final 2-0. After the score, the attacker was replaced by fellow Colombian Jan Lucumí, when replacement time was in progress.

The Colombian becomes the first player in the history of the Rio club to convert from 12 steps in five different competitions – credit @FluminenseFC/X

In this way, the Colombian became the first player in Flu history to score a penalty in five different competitions. He completed the feat in the Carioca Tournament, in the South American Cup Winners’ Cup, in the Club World Cup, in the Brasileirao and now in the Brazilian Cup.

The second leg of this Brazilian Cup series will take place on May 22 at the Maracaná stadium in Rio de Janeiro, starting at 5:00 pm (Colombian time). On the calendar, the Rio team’s next games will be against Atlético Mineiro for Brasileirão on Saturday, May 4, which will be followed by their visit to Colo Colo for the fourth round of the Copa Libertadores, in which they could take a vital step to secure the go to the round of 16.

Arias is now preparing to face key games in the Brasileirao and the Copa Libertadores – credit REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesArias has scored 6 goals and distributed 3 assists in 20 games played so far in 2024 – credit REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

According to what was reported in recent days by the Daily Record, the Light Blues would be interested in acquiring the Colombian for next season, despite the fact that they have no shortage of competitors in England and Spain.

“Given that the long-term future of Rabbi Matondo and Scott Wright is still uncertain under Clement [entrenador de Rangers], Arias is said to be on the Ibrox club’s radar. However, clubs like Atlético de Madrid are watching along with English clubs West Ham, Burnley, Wolves and Crystal Palace. “Arias has a contract until 2026 and Fluminense will ask for at least 10 million euros and a future sale fee, and the sale price will probably be a big obstacle for Rangers if that figure remains firm and fast,” the outlet detailed.