América MG (Bra) – Colo Colo (Chi) – 5-1
After a 1-2 defeat away from home, América were hoping to take revenge on Colo Colo at Independência. Yes, the “rabbits” were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil, losing to Corinthians on penalties, yes, they are in last place in the league, but they showed a high level in the Copa Sudamericana.
The first “call” for the visitors came in the sixth minute, when Gonzalo Mastriani hit the Chilean crossbar. And 20 minutes later, the hosts were winning… 3 a 0! Matheusinho opened the scoring, followed by Mastriani, who took advantage of a rebound to score. In complete control of the match, América-MG effortlessly extended their lead to three goals when Matheusinho dribbled past the defenders and finished expertly into the corner.
In the 62nd minute, Jordhy Thompson managed to reduce the visitors’ deficit. He won the ball after a cross from Léo Gil – 3-1. In the 84th minute, Damian Pizarro picked up the ball in the box and shot just inches wide of the América goal. If he had scored, the total score of the two matches would have been the same, but… no luck. A minute later, Gonzalo Mastriani scored twice, heading the ball into the Colo Colo net – 4:1. In injury time, Alan Saldivia sent the ball into his own net – 5:1. Vagner Mancini’s side triumphantly progressed to the last 16, where they will play another Brazilian side, Bragantino. August 1 at home and August 8 away.
Universitario de Deportes (Per) – Corinthians (Bra) – 1:2
Corinthians came to the Monumental de Lima after a 1-0 home win. It’s not a huge advantage, but it gave the Brazilians the opportunity to play in a more defensive style, with five defenders. The most interesting things happened at the end of the match. In the 70th minute, Romero deflected a shot from Guedes onto the crossbar. The first to reach the rebound was Maicon, who finished the ball into the right corner of the goal. The VAR showed that everything was according to the rules – 1:0.
Five minutes later, Biro felt like a handball player, playing with his hand in his penalty area. Flores struck from the penalty spot with power and precision. Miguel guessed the direction of the ball’s flight, but couldn’t return it – 1:1. Flores could soon have been a hero, but he failed to take his chance to level the aggregate score.
In the 92nd minute, deja vu happened. Romero saved Guedes’ shot, but the defenders overcooked Ryan’s rebound – 2:1. A 20-year-old (who had entered the field 8 minutes earlier), for only the second time in his career, was playing for the Corinthians first team. And immediately a goal at professional level. With emotion running high, he took off his shirt and received a yellow card, followed by a second. 80,000 local fans couldn’t contain their emotions either, so the game had to be stopped for 15 minutes. The players’ nerves also failed them. Reds were sent off: Calcaterra, Di Benedetto and Guzmán from Universitario, and Araújo from Corinthians.
When the match resumed, the hosts even managed to hit the crossbar, but that was no longer important. The semi-finalist in the Copa do Brasil continues to compete in three tournaments. In the last 16 of the Copa Sudamericana, Corinthians will host Newells Old Boys on August 2 and will travel to Argentina on August 9.
Estudiantes L.P. (Arg) – Barcelona SC (Ecu) – 4:0
Estudiantes proved that their 1-2 defeat in Ecuador was a stroke of luck. At home in the Estadio UNO, the Argentinians trampled Barcelona de Guayaquil in the first half. Mauro Méndez played a key role in the victory, contributing two goals and an assist, guiding the La Plata side into the last 16, where they will face Brazilian side Goiás. August 1 at home and August 8 away.
In the sixth minute, Mauro Mendez opened the scoring and in the 19th minute he made it two goals to the good, heading in Godoy’s cross – 2-0. In the 38th minute, Benjamin Rollheiser increased the lead to 3-0. As soon as the second half began, Mendez provided an assist for Carillo – 4:0.
With the score level, Estudiantes made substitutions to preserve key players and managed the game effectively. Barcelona, under the guidance of interim coach Segundo Castillo, struggled to change their approach or create meaningful chances. To be honest, there were no more dangerous moments in the game. But that’s understandable. By winning two matches 5-2, the motivation to “finish off” the opponent disappears.