Author: Serg Atrakhov, Vishwajit Sawant
Guaraní (Par) – BOTAFOGO (Bra) – 0:0
After winning 2-1 at home, all Botafogo had to do was draw in Paraguay. The Brazilians got their goal, but few expected them to play so passively. Of course, the absence of Botafogo’s top scorer, Tikinho Soares, also affected things. Throughout the match, their partners hit the target just once. In the 86th minute, Carlos Alberto shot weakly at the center of the goal. Bruno Lage urgently needs to figure out how to compensate for the absence of the injured leader, who will be out for at least the next month and a half.
Guarini had a good first half. Twice, the referee had a formal reason to award a penalty against Botafogo. And just before the break, Bernardo Romeo Benitez Farina hit the crossbar from the edge of the area. The Paraguayans missed their last chance to score and take the game to penalties in the 89th minute. Gatito Fernandez saves a corner kick from Camacho.
The leader of the Brazilian league goes further and, in the quarter-finals, will face Argentina’s“Defense and Justice“.
Goias (Bra) – ESTUDIANTES (Arg) – 0:2
Initially, Goiás had little chance of progressing after losing 0-3 in the first leg. Of course, the intrigue could return in the event of an early goal. And the quick goal was indeed scored…. That’s right, at the gates of Goiás. In the fifth minute, Gaston Benedetti struck the ball with precision into the right corner of the goal: 1-0.
Although formally the whole match was still open, everyone understood that it wasn’t realistic to get four goals back. But the hosts managed to compete for victory in one particular game. In the ninth minute, Mariano Andujar shot expertly, but the goalkeeper was on hand to send the ball out for a corner. In the 45th minute, Guilherme hit the crossbar with a free kick. Bad luck.
In the second half (again after five minutes), Benjamin Rollheiser increased Estudiantes’ lead – 2-0 (and 5-0 on aggregate).
Estudiantes’ convincing win guarantees them a place in the quarter-finals, where they will face Corinthians. The first leg is scheduled for São Paulo, followed by the second leg in La Plata. Meanwhile, Goiás must now shift their focus to the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, with the aim of moving out of the uncomfortable 15th position, close to the relegation zone. Their next challenge is to travel to Belo Horizonte to face América on Sunday.