🏆 São Paulo and Flamengo reach Libertadores QF; Nacional player collapses | OneFootball

The final two Copa Libertadores Round of 16 second-leg fixtures took place on Thursday as the quarter-finals took shape.

Here is what went down.

Bolívar fall short of Flamengo upset

Scorer: Sávio 57′. Red: De Jesus Santos 89′

A slim win on the night was not enough as Bolivia side Bolívar fell short of an upset over Brazil giants Flamengo 2-1 on aggregate.

Knowing they had a two-goal cushion on aggregate, the visitors approached the game with less ferocity than the hosts needed throughout 90 minutes. But they were made to run!

Bolívar dominated the game’s stats with 22 shots to eight and 75% possession of the ball. The constant movement left players from both sides huffing and puffing by half-time and they slowly walked off the pitch to conserve energy.

The hosts then pulled something out of nothing to break the deadlock as the Estadio Hernando Siles erupted.

After Bruno Sávio saw a shot hit the woodwork, he made the most of his next opportunity and headed the ball off the ground and in to make things interesting.

Flamengo still had zero shots on target after an hour and goalkeeper Agustín Rossi did the most work for the visitors with two saved efforts from range. Henry Vaca later forced Rossi to push a strike off the woodwork.

A late tackle from Anderson de Jesus Santos then led to a direct red card and the comeback was off the table seeing the Brazilian side prevail.

São Paulo dig deep; Nacional player collapses

Scorers: Bobadilla 31′, Calleri 47′

Tied 0-0 on aggregate this clash was wide open between Brazil’s São Paulo and Uruguay’s Nacional. After a tense 90 minutes, the hosts ultimately prevailed 2-0.

It was a game of few chances inside a rocking Estádio do Morumbi needing individual moments of brilliance to produce the goals. As both sides tinkered on the pitch, the first shot on target, and subsequent goal, arrived at the half-hour mark.

Lucas Moura sent a through ball to Jonathan Calleri and the No. 9 shot a powerful pass over to Damián Bobadilla whose one touch and finish was too much for goalkeeper Luis Mejía.

Minutes after the restart Calleri added a goal to his assist after an impressive jump allowed him to thump a header home for 2-0. It’s now 13 goals and four assists in 38 games this calendar year for him.

Following the second goal, the referee forced a pause in play after Nacional fans clashed with police and appeared to damage stadium seats.

A second pause in play was later required when Nacional defender Juan Izquierdo collapsed on the pitch. Players called for immediate medical attention and the 27-year-old was taken off via ambulance.

Fifteen minutes of added time were required but the visitors could not produce a comeback seeing São Paulo prevail.

Nacional confirmed after the match that Izquierdo suffered a cardiac arrhythmia and is stable.

Looking ahead in the tournament, here are how things line up. The quarter-finals take place on 18 and 25 September.

Atl. Mineiro vs. Fluminense River Plate vs. Colo-Colo San Pablo vs. Botafogo Peñarol vs. Flamengo