BOGOTÁ ( Associated Press) — Corinthians beat Boca Juniors on penalties Tuesday with a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Cassio to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores.
After a goalless draw in the second leg at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, “Timao” goalkeeper blocked shots from Sebastian Villa and Juan Ramírez to guide the Brazilian team to victory, which Gil scored with a decisive 12-step shot. certified. Brazil team won 6-5 in the shootout.
“We played as we could, we lost. We were more efficient on penalties and came out with classification”, said Casio.
After goalkeeper Agustín Rossi’s save against shots by Ral Gustavo and Bruno Melo, the second missed shot by Boca was the responsibility of Dario Benedetto, who had classification on his feet, when the locals received a fifth penalty with an advantage.
Benedetto sent the ball into the clouds on one fateful night, right when he played his 100th match with the “Zenies” shirt on. At 32 minutes, he wasted the maximum penalty after an elbow inside the Raul Gustavo area on “Pole” Fernández, who was sentenced by Uruguay referee Andrés Matonte after reviewing the video in VAR.
During the 90 minutes, Boca was in control of the game, but was not successful by definition, especially due to mistakes from Benedetto, who missed two other clear chances.
“It’s a defeat that hurts because we had the goal of the Copa Libertadores. We wanted to go as far as possible”, said Boca coach Sebastian Battaglia.
The Corinthians, who came into the duel with the losses of Willian, Fagner, Renato Augusto, Edson and Gustavo Mosquito, also lost defender Joo Victor and striker Gustavo Mantuan to injury in the process.
“Timao” limited himself to defense and, despite not finishing between three positions in regular time, became the second Brazilian team to be a visitor to the Libertadores, after Pele’s Santos in the 1963 final. manages to eliminate Boca playing in the second leg.
The quarter-finals will see Corinthians ruled out of the match between rivals Flamengo and Deportes Tolima, which will be played in Rio de Janeiro this Wednesday and has a 1-0 advantage over the Rio de Janeiro side.
last minute classification
Athletico Paranás drew 1–1 against Libertad and used the 2–1 victory achieved in the first leg to qualify for the quarter-finals.
The Paraguay team temporarily leveled the tie in the injury time of the first half with a goal from attacking rookie Santa Cruz, who got off the mark with a personal maneuver and defined with a cross shot.
The striker, aged 40 years and 323 days, became the oldest player to score in a tie in Copa Libertadores history, surpassing Nene, who scored at 39 years and 359 days in 2021 for Fluminense.
Paranance equalized in the 90th minute with Romulo scoring, who took advantage of a short clearance by goalkeeper Martin Silva to credit a pass from the team led by Luiz Felipe Scolari.
“Furaçao”, the third Brazilian team to advance to this stage of Libertadores, will take on their next opponent on Thursday after a clash between Estudiantes de la Plata and Fortaleza, who were tied at one in the first leg.
MINEIRO fights and defeats EMELEC
In a previous one, Antonio Mohamed warned: “We have a final on Tuesday”. Atletico Mineiro’s Argentine coach was not wrong.
The defending Brazilian champions had to fight for nearly 80 minutes to break the resistance of Amelec, whom they beat 1–0 (2–1 on aggregate) to reach the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores.
“Gallo” was in control of the ball from the start of the match, played in front of more than 56,000 people at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, but repeatedly crashed against the Ecuadorian defense, and in particular by goalkeeper Pedro Ortiz. with.
Amelec’s goalkeeper, who was already a figure in the first leg played last week in Guayaquil and finished 1-1, was once again almost unbeatable for Mineiro’s strikers.
But striker Hulk, who had missed a penalty in the first duel against the “Electrics”, retaliated and scored from 12 moves in the 79th minute, against a center by Eduardo Vargas against a violation indicated by a handball by central defender Eddie Guevara. Afterwards.
The 35-year-old striker’s goal was his 11th goal for Mineiro in Libertadores, equaling Joe’s record for the Belo Horizonte team.
Atlético Mineiro will meet in the quarter-finals with the winner of the key between Palmeiras and Cerro Porteo, which will meet in So Paulo this Wednesday and the Brazilians will dominate 3-0.
