The Libertadores, the mother of all cups, is back with the start of the round of 16. On Tuesday, Argentinos and Fluminense drew 1-1 in a match marked by a serious injury to Luciano Sanchez. Then River came from behind to beat Inter 2-1 thanks to a great comeback from Solari. Bolivar beat Athletico Paranaense of Brazil 3-1 in La Paz.
Wednesday's action continued: in Montevideo, Boca drew 0-0 with Nacional while in Colombia, Deportivo Pereira beat Independiente del Valle of Ecuador 1-0. Later in the day, Palmeiras beat Atlético Mineiro 1-0 away.
On Thursday, Racing lost 4-2 away to Atletico Nacional, while Flamengo beat Olimpia 1-0 in Rio de Janeiro.
Matchday 1 (Tuesday 1/8)
Ronnie Fernandez is the star and sours Vidal in Libertadores.
The former La U striker shone with two goals in the round of 16 against Paranaense. The 'King' did not make much of an impact.
When everyone expected Vidal, Ronnie Fernandez appeared. The duel of Chileans was won by the 32-year-old from Puntarenas, with a brace that leaves Bolivar with great chances of advancing to the quarter-finals of the Libertadores.
The first half started with a bang. At 9′, the Brazilian team opened the account: Vitor Roque made a great play on the right sector, managed to overflow and crossed backwards for Erick to appear alone and with a cross shot to beat an old acquaintance of Chilean football, Carlos Lampe.
The home side responded immediately, however, and it was former La U striker Ronnie Fernandez who scored. The striker, who is enjoying a renaissance in La Paz after his poor spell with El Azul, scored a superb goal, latching on to defender Rocha and finishing perfectly to beat Bento. He celebrated in style.
After that, the Brazilian side began to show some physical fatigue. The 3,500m altitude always takes its toll at the Hernando Siles. Beñat San José's side took advantage of this and began to press, which meant that they increased their lead: at 29 minutes, Bejarano struck a powerful shot from the right to make it 2-1.
In the second half, it was again Bolívar who had the clearest chances: in the 60′, Justiniano shot from half distance, the ball hit the crossbar, and then did not go in. The DT of the Altiplano side celebrated the goal prematurely. He would have to wait about 15 minutes before, this time, he could actually score a goal. And it was, once again, thanks to Ronnie, who rounded off an incredible night.
At that stage, Wesley Carvalho's men just wanted the game to end as quickly as possible. Bolívar lowered their intensity and just managed the game until the referee blew the final whistle. The second leg will take place next Tuesday 8 August and there, at the Arena da Baixada, the 'King' will want his revenge. For now, Ronnie makes history.
River turned it around and took advantage.
The Millonario started losing against Internacional, but with a great second half and the stellar entry of Solari -author of the two goals- they won 2-1.
In the beginning, Millonario were determined to stay in their opponents' half and try to break out wide with the speed of their midfielders, while the Brazilians were waiting in the wings to counter-attack quickly when they regained the ball.
The Argentinians were the first to create danger, with Ignacio Fernandez's header just over the top and Lucas Beltran's shot from the right-hand corner of the six-yard box that Sergio Rochet managed to turn behind for a corner.
On the Colorado side, the set-piece began to become the main attacking tool and the constant fouls called by referee Jesús Valenzuela gave them a few chances.
Little by little, with Charles Aránguiz as playmaker, Eduardo Coudet's side levelled the game and nullified the home side's attacking circuits, who to make matters worse would suffer the first goal just before half-time.
A free kick from the right taken with precision by Alan Patrick set up Enner Valencia's run. The Ecuadorian headed the ball past Franco Armani to stun the Mâs Monumental.
In the second half, River took the field with attitude and with the push of their fans, but Rochet made it clear he was having a sensational night, with two remarkable saves against Esequiel Barco and another against Nicolás De La Cruz.
However, there was nothing the Uruguayan keeper could do when substitute Pablo Solari cut in from the right, received a measured pass from De La Cruz and crossed an unchallenged shot inside the far post.
But the puntano, who had already put the game beyond doubt, was destined to change the game. Minutes later, after a remarkable move by Beltrán that included a turn and assist in midfield, the scorer faced Rochet one-on-one and slotted under his body to make it 2-1.
The game dropped in intensity and River secured a deserved victory that does not clinch the series but leaves them in a better position for the return leg. The result, but also the conviction that today they were superior to their opponents.
A black night for Marcelo in the draw between Fluminense and Argentinos Juniors.
The Fluminense full-back was sent off with a straight red card and left the match devastated after a very serious injury to Argentinos Juniors player Sanchez.
Marcelo has had his fair share of experiences on a football pitch, but this match against Argentinos Juniors in the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores will not be easily forgotten. The former Real Madrid full-back left the pitch devastated and in tears after unintentionally causing a terrible injury to Sanchez at the start of the second half.
The left-back was driving the ball with quality to get away from several opponents when he stretched out his left leg and stepped on Sanchez's leg, which spun around very sharply in a truly horrific sight. As soon as the impact occurred Marcelo threw his hands to his head in desperation, knowing the damage he had done to his opponent. Although the action was fortuitous, the VAR reviewed it and the referee gave him a straight red card.
Fluminense were trailing at the time and also trailing. However, what had been an intense and vibrant game cooled to such an extent that the fans in the stands could barely be heard and the tempo dropped alarmingly. Sanchez's stretchered-off exit was still in the minds of every player.
According to TyC Sports, after leaving the pitch Marcelo immediately went to the home team's dressing room to check on Sánchez's condition. The two men exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch and to find out how his injury was progressing. After the match, the Argentine defender was taken to the Finocchieto hospital to undergo tests which revealed a complete knee dislocation. He will have to undergo surgery and will be out of action for between eight and 12 months.
However, the game changed completely when goalkeeper Martin Arias took out Diogo and was also sent off. The home side had run out of substitutions and midfielder Heredia was left under the sticks. On the first shot Flu managed, Samuel Xabier equalised with a superb volley. A very valuable equaliser to get the tie over in Maracana.
On the sporting front, Marcelo will not be present for the second leg. It remains to be seen what kind of sanction the player will receive after the dramatic consequences of his action. It is possible that he will receive more than one match.
2nd matchday (Wednesday 2/8)
Boca drew 0-0 with Nacional while in Colombia, Deportivo Pereira beat Independiente del Valle of Ecuador 1-0. Later in the day, Palmeiras beat Atlético Mineiro 1-0 away.
Boca Juniors drew 0-0 with Nacional in a hard-fought match at Montevideo's Parque Central.
Boca Juniors drew 0-0 with Nacional in a hard-fought Copa Libertadores last-16 tie.
The Xeneize were held to a 0-0 draw by Nacional at Parque Central and will play at the Bombonera next Wednesday for a place in the next round.
Nacional of Uruguay and Boca Juniors drew 0-0 on Wednesday in Montevideo in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores 2023. The tie will be decided next Wednesday at La Bombonera, where Uruguay's Édinson Cavani is expected to make his debut with the "10″ of the Xeneize.
The starting line-up was a strange alchemy, difficult to fit on the imaginary blackboard, but it had its logic. To defend, the classic line of four, with Varela standing in front of it, another line of four midfielders in front (Advíncula, Campuzano, Pol and Medina) for a lone Merentiel to press the ball out wide. But without the ball, the formation made sense: Varela free as a third centre-back, the two full-backs (Weigand and Fabra) ready to attack, Medina loose, Advíncula as a net striker.
The problem was the lack of continuity in that potential attack. In short, as defensively they were not suffering, logic was leading the team not to go crazy, to wait for the right moment to attack, but that moment was spaced out, slowing down. Medina looked too limited on the left flank, too static on the flank and unable to produce.
Triumph for the 'Verdao': Palmeiras defeated Atlético Mineiro 1-0 away.
A Raphael Veiga goal gave Palmeiras a 1-0 win over Atlético Mineiro in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores 2023 round of 16 tie.
Palmeiras beat Atlético Mineiro 1-0 on Wednesday in Belo Horizonte, in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores 2023 round of 16, which pitted the last two champions of Brazilian football against each other. The attacking midfielder Raphael Veiga (29) with a mid-range goal ratified the favouritism of the 'Verdão' to win their fourth star in the main club tournament of America, in a match played at the Mineirao World Cup stadium.
Deportivo Pereira believes in no one: they beat Independiente del Valle.
Deportivo Pereira continues to surprise in the Copa Libertadores. Now they defeated Independiente del Valle of Ecuador, 1-0, in the first leg of the round of 16.
The tournament's surprise package, who had already knocked out Colo Colo of Chile, ignored the terror instilled by South America's so-called "Matagigantes" and secured another historic result in front of their home fans at the Hernán Ramírez Villegas stadium.
A 58th minute goal from Paraguay's Juan Danilo Santacruz was enough for Matecaña to go into the second leg next Wednesday with the advantage.
The teams will meet again at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito. The best team at the end of the series in the Ecuadorian capital will face the winner of the match between Brazil's Atlético Mineiro and Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.
Matchday 3 (3/8)
Shaken by the embarrassment of the Pedro case, defending Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo could only manage a 1-0 win over Olimpia at the Maracana in the first leg of the last 16, with Atletico Nacional thrashing Racing 4-2 in Medellin.
With the '9' out of the squad, winger Bruno Henrique (49) took over the scoring duties for 'Fla', coached by Argentine Jorge Sampaoli, in Rio de Janeiro.
The series will be decided next Thursday in Asunción. The winner will meet the winner of the quarter-final between Fluminense and Argentinos Juniors, who drew 1-1 in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
In contrast, Atletico Nacional shocked Racing 4-2 in Medellin, leaving the table almost set for a rematch in a week's time in the Argentinian capital.
Flamengo beat Olimpia by the narrowest of margins in the first leg of the round of 16.
Flamengo beat Paraguay's Olimpia 1-0 today in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores 2023 round of 16 tie at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium, giving them a slight advantage ahead of the rematch in Asuncion on 10 August.
With 67,066 people in attendance, Thursday's match was the biggest home crowd of any Brazilian team in the current edition of the continent's premier club competition.
Bruno Henrique scored in the second minute of the second half the only goal of the match, in which Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli's men, despite attacking from the start, had difficulty overcoming the Paraguayan visitors' siege and, although winning, failed to get a bigger score to have more of an advantage in the rematch.
Even so, thanks to the result, Flamengo need only a draw next week to advance to the quarter-finals.
Olimpia, meanwhile, will need a win by more than one goal at home to see off the reigning Copa Libertadores champions and stay alive in the competition.
Racing lost 4-2 to Atletico Nacional and will need to win in Avellaneda to dream of reaching the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals.
La Academia made some defensive mistakes and paid dearly for them. In the end, with pure heart, they pulled one back with two goals from Piovi's penalty and were on the verge of a draw, but the Colombians widened their gap. In a week's time, Gago's team will go for the feat at the Cilindro.
Despite having added 5 reinforcements for the next semester, Racing was presented at the Atanasio Girardot in Medellin with no new face among its starters. Juanfer Quintero will not be available for the quarter-finals, Agustin Almendra failed to close his deal with Boca and Fernando Gago decided to leave Roger Martinez on the bench, along with Gaston Martirena.
The first leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16 tie started at a slower pace, although Atlético Nacional had their first chances with shots from Álvaro Angulo, Brahian Palacios and Neyder Moreno.
The filtered passes from Jonathan Gómez and Nicolás Oroz to Maxi Romero, along with Gabriel Hauche's interventions on the left that demanded Harlen Castillo were some of the arguments put forward by the Academy to open the scoring, but as happened throughout the Professional League, La Gagoneta suffered the adverse set-piece.
Source images: Twitter CONMEBOL Libertadores.
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