Estudiantes beat Corinthians, await Flamengo or Del Valle in semi | OneFootball

With a stoppage-time goal, Estudiantes (ARG) knocked out Corinthians at Neo Química Arena

The Copa Libertadores will have an Argentine team in the semifinal! That’s because Estudiantes de La Plata (ARG) eliminated Corinthians this Wednesday (16), with a 1-0 win right at Neo Química Arena. Since the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw in Argentina, the hermanos move on.

As a result, Estudiantes now await Flamengo or Independiente del Valle (ECU). If the matchup with Mengão is confirmed, it will be something of a revenge chance for the Argentines, since Mengão knocked out the La Plata side in the Libertadores quarterfinals last year.

HOW DID THE MATCH GO?

The match was very poor technically. Goalkeepers Hugo Souza and Fernando Muslera were hardly tested at all. Even playing away from home, Estudiantes even had more possession at certain moments in Wednesday’s (16) match.

With the game producing very few chances, one of the few opportunities created by Estudiantes led to the goal. In the 43rd minute of the second half, Tomás Palacios got to the byline and cut the ball back. With his left foot and first time, Alexis Castro unleashed a thunderbolt and silenced Neo Química Arena.

SUSPENDED FOR THE SEMIFINAL

The teams took the field with many players one booking away from suspension, and three of them were booked. Breno Bidon for Corinthians. Tomás Palacios and Leandro González for the Argentine side. In other words, the Argentine team will have important absences for the clash with Flamengo or Independiente del Valle.

WHEN WILL THE SEMIFINALS BE?

Estudiantes will face the winner of Flamengo vs Independiente del Valle in the weeks of October 14 and 21. If Mengão confirms its place against the Ecuadorian side, it will play the first match away, in La Plata, and then decide it at the Sacred Temple of football, the Maracanã.

The final semifinalist of the Copa Libertadores will be decided this Thursday (17), starting at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), at the Maracanã. Since they won 2-0 at the altitude of Quito, Rubro-Negro can even lose by one goal and still advance to the next round.

Whoever advances from this clash will face Palmeiras or Fluminense in the final. Both teams lost the second leg, to LDU (ECU) and Platense (ARG), respectively. However, Abel Ferreira’s team advanced on penalties in Quito, while their Rio rivals went through on aggregate.

AUTHOR’S OPINION

— If Flamengo eliminate Independiente del Valle, they will go into the Libertadores semifinal as favorites. The fact that they would decide it at home carries significant weight at this stage of the competition. However, there is no point thinking about the semifinal before getting past the quarterfinals — opined Pedro Paulo Catonho, journalist for Coluna do Fla.

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