Thanks, mate! Boston beat O’Higgins, São Paulo stay top: what they need | OneFootball

Luck really does seem to be on São Paulo’s side at the start of this Copa Sudamericana. After drawing at home with Millonarios this Tuesday (19), Tricolor saw bottom-placed Boston River win, keeping the Morumbi club at the top of Group C.

Until then stuck on zero points after four defeats, the Uruguayan side finally claimed its first win, beating O’Higgins 3-2 on Wednesday night (20) at the Centenario Stadium. Muñoa, González, and Ramírez scored for the home team, while Thiago Vecino and Castillo pulled goals back.

As a result, the beaten Chilean side remains in 3rd place with 7 points, behind Millonarios with 8 and São Paulo with 9. Therefore, Tricolor now depends only on itself to secure 1st place in the group and advance to the round of 16 without needing an extra match.

In the Copa Sudamericana, only the group leaders advance directly, while the runners-up go through a playoff against an opponent coming from the Copa Libertadores to determine who stays alive. São Paulo is already guaranteed at least 2nd place in the group.

São Paulo’s qualification is now practically assured, since its final match is precisely against struggling Boston River at Morumbi next Tuesday (26), to seal the spot once and for all.

Even if they slip up against Boston and draw once again, Tricolor would still have a good chance of advancing in first place. That would only fail to happen if Millonarios beat O’Higgins in the final round, since they would reach 11 points, leaving São Paulo on 10.

A draw in that match or an O’Higgins win would still send Tricolor through, since the Chileans could match São Paulo’s 10 points but would remain in 2nd place on tiebreakers.

Even with an embarrassing defeat, Dorival Jr.’s team could still advance directly to the round of 16. If they lose and stay on 9 points, they would have to hope Millonarios and O’Higgins draw in Colombia. The home side would level on points, but would also finish in 2nd place, since they lost their head-to-head against Tricolor in the group stage.

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