Corinthians can seal Libertadores Group E top spot with draw v Peñarol | OneFootball

Corinthians take the field on Thursday night (21) with the chance to secure first place in Group E of the CONMEBOL Libertadores ahead of schedule. Timão face Peñarol at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Estadio Campeón del Siglo in Montevideo, in the fifth round of the continental competition’s group stage.

Fernando Diniz’s team comes into the match at the top of the group, with ten points earned from four games. The situation became even more favorable for the black-and-white club after Platense of Argentina lost 2-1 to Independiente Santa Fe of Colombia last Tuesday.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

With that result, the Argentine side remained on seven points but has already completed five matches in the tournament. Therefore, a draw in Uruguay would mathematically guarantee Corinthians first place in the group, since Platense would no longer have any chance of overtaking the São Paulo club in the final round.

In addition to sealing early qualification for the round of 16, securing first place in Group E represents an important advantage for Timão in the Libertadores knockout stage. If they advance as group winners, Corinthians will be placed in Pot 1 for the round-of-16 draw and will have the right to play the second leg at home.

To keep alive the possibility of deciding all knockout ties at Neo Química Arena, however, the club will still need to fight for the best overall record in the group stage.

At the moment, Rosario Central of Argentina lead the overall standings of the competition with 13 points from five matches. Flamengo and Independiente Rivadavia are also in contention for the top spots, both with ten points from four games.

Corinthians currently have three wins and one draw in the Libertadores. The campaign began with a 2-0 win over Platense in Argentina, followed by a 2-0 victory against Independiente Santa Fe at Neo Química Arena. Then Timão beat Peñarol themselves 2-0 in São Paulo before drawing 1-1 with Santa Fe in Colombia.

In Group E, the standings are as follows:

1st Corinthians – 10 points 2nd Platense – 7 points 3rd Independiente Santa Fe – 5 points 4th Peñarol – 2 points

Even though they have already qualified for the round of 16, Corinthians are still looking to confirm top spot in the group and avoid any risks in the final round. That is because a possible defeat to Peñarol would keep Platense alive in the fight for first place.

In their final group-stage match, Timão will host the Argentine club at Neo Química Arena next Wednesday (27). As they won the first meeting 2-0 away from home, the São Paulo side could even lose by one goal and still stay ahead of their rival on head-to-head goal difference. A defeat by three goals or more, however, would cause Corinthians to lose the group lead.

On the other side, Peñarol come into the clash in Montevideo under pressure. The Uruguayan team are still searching for their first win in the competition and sit bottom of the group with just two points from four matches.

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