📹 Santos cruise in Venezuela, one and a half feet in Sula last 16 | OneFootball

On Tuesday (21), Santos thrashed Universidad Central 4-1 in Venezuela in the first leg of the Conmebol Sudamericana 2026 round-of-16 playoffs.

The match was played in the city of Valencia, rather than the capital Caracas, because it was one of the places less devastated by the powerful earthquake that destroyed the neighboring country a few weeks ago.

Even amid a serious financial crisis and still without Neymar, Peixe had little trouble in the match.

Mosquera posed the biggest threat to goalkeeper Brazão, especially in the first half, but that was as far as it went.

Still, in the opening half, Gabriel Bontempo opened the scoring and gave Santos the calm it needed.

After the break, once the scare of the ball hitting Brazão’s post in first-half stoppage time had passed, Peixe took control of the game.

Gabriel Menino made it 2-0 after a fine assist from Oliva, finishing with a shot into the corner.

Then, Thaciano tried twice to "break the curse," leaving Santos virtually assured of a place in the round of 16.

In the final minutes, in a sequence straight out of "The Trapalhões," complete with the goalkeeper spilling the ball and a defender producing an astonishing whiff, Rony turned the win into a rout!

Finally, with the Venezuelan side’s first shot of the second half, Maicol Ruiz scored Universidad Central’s "consolation goal."

🚦 How it stands

With the win in Venezuela, Santos can even lose by two goals at Vila Belmiro next Tuesday (28) and still advance to the round of 16 to face Macará of Ecuador.

UCV need to win by three goals in Santos’ home stadium to try to qualify on penalties.

Peixe return to action on Saturday (25), when they host Chapecoense at Vila Belmiro at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time).

The match, valid for the 20th round of the Brasileirão, is expected to feature Neymar’s return.

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

📸 FEDERICO PARRA - AFP or licensors