Both teams entered this encounter with the possibility of progressing, but still found themselves in differing situations; while only a win would do for the Sundowns, Fluminense knew a draw would be enough to keep them in Group F’s top two.
As such, it was perhaps unsurprising that the South African outfit set the tempo in the early stages, testing Fábio on several occasions.
First, the Brazilian goalkeeper made a comfortable save from Lucas Ribeiro’s attempt, albeit only gathering the ball at the second attempt, before producing a far more impressive stop to deny Tashreeq Matthews.
Then Fábio thwarted Divine Lunga’s low strike from a tight angle as Mamelodi exerted pressure.
Yet, despite that intense opening 10 minutes from their opponents, Fluminense slowly grew into the game and gained a foothold.
Around the half-hour mark, Ignácio headed wide from a corner and Jhon Arias flashed a low shot across the face of goal.
Not long before the interval, Nonato curled a shot a whisker past the post, and it was Fluminense who would have felt more confident of securing the result they required at half-time.
With Tricolor 45 minutes away from the last 16, they were content to put the onus on Sundowns and strike on the counter.
Their plan almost worked to perfection, with around an hour on the clock too, when German Cano hit the post with a volley from Arias’ cross.
In response, Miguel Cardoso’s men carved out moves that worked them into dangerous positions, but they were too often let down by their forward players’ inability to stay onside.
That lack of positional awareness left Fabio with little to do between the Fluminense sticks, and the Brazilians were able to hold on for a share of the spoils with relative ease.
As such, Renato Gaucho’s side move on to the knockout rounds, and having finished second behind Borussia Dortmund, will face the winners of Group E.
Sundowns, meanwhile, will return to South Africa with their heads held high, having acquitted themselves well across the tournament with their exciting, frantic approach.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Fabio (Fluminense)
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