Argentinos Juniors lose on penalties, out of the Libertadores | OneFootball

Argentinos Juniors bid farewell to the 2026 Copa Libertadores after a dramatic penalty shootout against Barcelona of Ecuador. At the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, the "Bicho" couldn't maintain the advantage from the first leg and fell 1-0 in regular time, which leveled the aggregate at 1-1 and led the series to penalties, where the visiting team won 5 to 4.

The match was intense from the start. The first clear chance came at 29' for the visitors, with a dribble and shot by Darío Benedetto that goalkeeper Brayan Cortés controlled without problems. The home team responded only at 38' with a long-range shot from Leandro Lozano that goalkeeper José Contreras deflected to a corner. Before the break, at 42', Diego Porcel had a header opportunity after a cross from Hernán López Muñoz, but the ball went wide.

In the second half, Argentinos sought to seal the series. At 5' and 12', both López Muñoz and Porcel challenged Contreras, who became a standout player. However, at 20' of the second half, Jhonny Quiñonez captured a rebound at the edge of the area and, with a sharp shot, scored the definitive 1-0 for the team led by César Farías. At 38', Argentinos had the equalizer at the feet of Iván Morales after a rebound, but the Venezuelan goalkeeper prevailed again.

In the penalty shootout, the home team's inaccuracy was decisive. For Barcelona, Jhonny Quiñonez, Javier Báez, Héctor Villalba, Miguel Parrales, and Milton Céliz scored; while Brayan Cortés saved the shots from Tomás Martínez and Alex Rangel.

On the side of Argentinos Juniors, only Alan Lescano, Hernán López Muñoz, Leandro Lozano, and Lautaro Giaccone scored. Goalkeeper Contreras saved Iván Morales's shot, while Román Riquelme and Erik Godoy missed their attempts, sealing the elimination of the "Bicho."

Match Summary

Penalty Shootout (4-5):

Argentinos: Lescano, López Muñoz, Lozano, and Giaccone scored. Riquelme, Godoy, and Morales missed.

Barcelona: Quiñonez, Báez, Villalba, Parrales, and Céliz scored. Martínez and Rangel missed.

Lineups

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