Author: Vishwajit Sawant
Christian’s late goal secures Athletico-PR’s place in the last 16 of the Libertadores
In a thrilling match on Tuesday night, Athletico-PR emerged victorious against Libertad-PAR in the fifth round of Group G action at the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba. The game was tense, with Libertad showing a strong performance in the first half, limiting Athletico’s attacking opportunities. Despite their dominance, Libertad were unable to take advantage of the chances they had, with goalkeeper Bento making crucial saves to prevent them from going ahead.
In the second half, Athletico-PR came out revitalized, with Vitor Bueno and Vitor Roque leading the attack. Roque, in particular, had two promising chances but failed to convert. It was substitute Christian who ended up making the difference, coming on in the 71st minute and finding the back of the net the following minute. Cutting inside from the left, Christian dodged the defenders and unleashed a powerful shot from outside the area, securing a vital 1-0 lead for Athletico-PR.
As the game got underway, both teams continued to create chances, but solid saves from Bento and Martin Silva kept the score unchanged. In the final moments, Libertad’s Villalba looked to have equalized, but the VAR intervened and disallowed the goal due to a handball.
With this result, Athletico-PR secured their place in the last 16 of the Libertadores, reaching ten points and leaving Libertad behind with six in Group G. The victory brought immense relief and joy to the Athletico-PR fans, who saw their team advance in the tournament.
Atlético-MG beat Alianza Lima and move closer to qualifying
In a tightly contested match on Tuesday, Atlético-MG secured a 1-0 win over Alianza Lima in Lima, taking a significant step towards the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
The solitary goal, brilliantly executed by Hulk, was decisive for the Belo Horizonte club, who are now on nine points in Group G, just one point behind leaders Athletico-PR. The win sets up a decisive clash on the final matchday of the group stage against Libertad-PAR, where a draw will guarantee Atlético-MG’s place in the prestigious continental competition.
Although Eduardo Coudet’s side didn’t play their best soccer, they showed their efficiency by holding on to their lead until the final whistle, picking up three crucial points. In particular, the front trio of Hulk, Paulinho and Hyoran showed impressive synergy, with Paulinho and Hyoran providing excellent support for Hulk throughout the game.
The decisive goal summed up the understanding between the three strikers, as a beautiful move culminated with Hulk in front of the net, needing just a simple touch to secure the win in the 62nd minute. However, defender Nathan Silva had a momentary lapse, conceding a penalty that was promptly identified by the match officials.
Fortunately for Silva, the VAR’s intervention revealed an offside, which led to the foul being overturned. However, these defensive errors must be corrected so as not to damage the team’s prospects in critical matches.
OTHER RESULTS
Bolivar – Cerro Porteño – 2:0
The Bolivian team reached the last 16 with a confident victory over the Paraguayans in La Paz. Villamil opened the scoring after five minutes. After maintaining their attacking momentum, the hosts consolidated their success at the start of the second half. In the 48th minute, Chávez scored with a header from a cross from the right. On the final matchday, Bolívar will play Palmeiras away to determine the winner of the quartet, but it is likely that these clubs will drop out of the group.
Boca Juniors – Colo-Colo – 1:0
The Argentinian club overcame the Chileans with minimal problems, thanks to Weigandt’s goal in the 55th minute. The confident play of the visitors’ goalkeeper, Brian Cortes, prevented Boke from achieving a greater victory, but it was enough to reach the last 16.
Monagas 1-0 Deportivo Pereira
The Venezuelan club beat the Colombians to maintain their chances of reaching the last 16. Edanyilber Navas scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 19th minute. Ahead of matchday six, Monagas have five points, are in third place and have an away game against Boca. Deportivo Pereira have 7 points and will face Colo-Colo (who also have 5 points and a 1/8 chance)
Melgar 5-0 Patronato
The Peruvians beat the Argentinian club 3-0 (Cuesta scored from the penalty spot, Bordacharar and Martinez from the spot) in the 22nd minute. Before the break, Cuesta scored twice and, in the second half, D’Arrigo made it 5-0. It’s true that these two teams missed their chances of reaching 1/8 even before the match. They won’t be able to catch Atlético Nacional and Olympia Asuncion in terms of points.