Rafael hails LDU’s efficiency, laments Copa Sul-Americana exit | OneFootball

Rafael left the field inconsolable after São Paulo’s 1-0 defeat to LDU this Thursday at Morumbis, in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. With the elimination from the tournament, the goalkeeper analyzed the match and acknowledged the efficiency of the Ecuadorian rivals.

Although São Paulo was superior to LDU in both games, it was the Ecuadorian team that left the field victorious on both occasions. In the first leg, in Quito, they won 2-0. This Thursday, not even more than 54,000 fans were able to intimidate the team led by Brazilian Tiago Nunes.

“We know we needed to win, to stay alert, because they were going to play for a single chance and ended up taking advantage of our set piece, when everyone was up front, to score the goal. In the end, they were more efficient than us both defensively and offensively, that’s why they advanced. It’s a shame, because we had everything to be more efficient in these two games to move on to the next stage,” Rafael told Paramount.

This was São Paulo’s third consecutive elimination in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores, the second with Rafael in goal. Last year, the goalkeeper suffered the defeat to Botafogo, also at Morumbis, on penalties.

“Very sad, we wanted to experience a magical night today, to be able to give back the affection, the wonderful celebration they put on. All I can do is apologize to the fans, we did our best, we ran, but unfortunately things didn’t turn out as we wanted. It’s been two years that we’ve gone out in the quarterfinals knowing we had the potential to go further in the competition,” he concluded.

LDU will face Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores semifinal. The matches will take place in the last two weeks of October, with dates and times yet to be set by Conmebol.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.