Gómez header seals Palmeiras’ Libertadores quarter-final spot | OneFootball

Gómez’s towering header sealed Palmeiras’ place in the Libertadores quarter-finals, the captain delivering a commanding, aerially assured performance.

Arias supplied the cross for the decisive goal, and Carlos Miguel protected the advantage in added time by thwarting Vegetti. According to Globo.com, a back three restored the resilience that had been missing.

Alexander Barboza impressed on the left of that unit and added experience when required. Piquerez almost struck from distance and largely shut down Cerro’s right flank, which had troubled Palmeiras in the first leg.

Allan injected depth and combined neatly with Flaco López and Arias, while Marlon Freitas was relentless out of possession despite more errant passes than usual. Lucas Evangelista found the build-up difficult but went close from the edge of the box.

Vitor Roque again struggled to justify his starting role, battling the Cerro centre-backs but rarely prevailing. Flaco lacked consistency in key moments. Off the bench, Maurício arrived late and squandered a clear one-on-one.

Luis Pacheco earned useful minutes for a youngster who has caught Abel Ferreira’s eye. Late substitutes Giay and Emiliano Martínez were on too briefly to be rated.

Despite external criticism, Abel kept faith with his choices and progress followed. The only asterisk noted was persisting with Vitor Roque, and the coach was shown a yellow card for dissent.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”