The round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana is complete after last night’s action. Exciting matchups are coming up again in the next round. Let us have a look at those and at this week’s results.
Lanús celebrate a big win over Belgrano that puts them into the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana. (AFP)
Lanús had no problems whatsoever with Belgrano. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg (with Belgrano’s second fastest goal in Sudamericana history), it did not take long again for the game to get going. Goalkeeper Pablo Heredia was sent off in the first minute after bringing down Sergio González inside the penalty area after a horrendous mistake of his defender. So Nicólas Aguirre stepped up and made it 1-0 early in the game, giving Lanús all the tactical advantages in the world.
They made use of it throughout the game and had the bigger share of possession. It took them until the 40th minute to double the lead when Diego Braghieri cleaned up the leftovers of a deflected freekick. The 3-0 after an hour effectively ended this tie. Belgrano midfielder Guillermo Farré was the poorest person on the pitch after he scored an own goal with no opposing player anywhere near him.
Shortly after, Jorge Vélazquez gave the guests a little hope, but it did not prevail too long. Miguel Almirón and Gonzalo Di Renzo added another two before the end to give Lanús a commanding 6-2 win on aggregate. The Argentinians get to play Uruguayan side Defensor Sporting in the upcoming round. Belgrano meanwhile need to find a way to stop the recent downward trend, that saw them fall from contender for the Argentinian league title to being eliminated awfully from the Copa Sudamericana.
Elsewhere, Libertad has followed Lanús into the next round and will face the Brazilians from Chapecoense after a 1-0 win over Universidad Católica (4-2 aggregate). The guests from Chile ended the game with only 9 men, after both Guillermo Maripán and Marco Medel were sent off in the last ten minutes. It did not change much about the result anymore though, as the decisive goal was already scored in the 17th minute by Rodrigo López.
Emelec were extremely lucky to make it to the next round. Juventud not only missed a penalty during the game, also several other chances were wasted or survived with pure luck by the Ecuadorians. Since the first game ended 0-0 as well, this affair went to penalties right after the 90 minutes ended. The Uruguayans missed one too many. One of them by goalkeeper Carini, who interestingly enough took the very first one.
A surprise win was celebrated by Deportes Tolima, who decided the Colombian duel in Barranquilla against Atlético Junior for themselves. After losing the first leg at home, not much was expected from them anymore, they knew better and won the second leg 2-0. First half goals from Jonatan Estrada and Didier Delgado were enough to sneak into the next round after all. One reason for that? A saved penalty by goalkeeper Joel Silva on Vladimir Hernández.
Independiente striker Albertengo celebrates with teammate Vera after his goal. (infiernorojo.com)
A late goal from Lucas Albertengo (87th) sent Independiente into the next round after beating Arsenal de Sarandí 2-1 on aggregate. After their recent run of good form, the Argentinians might be a possible favourite for the whole competition itself. First though, they will have to deal with Olimpia that eliminated Águilas Pereira with a 1-2 away win. Striker Ariel Núñez scored his fifth goal of the Sudamericana and is the top scorer after two rounds.
Club Nacional are out despite winning the second leg against Santa Fe 1-0 with a goal from Santiago Romero. The unlucky 0-2 loss at home which I described in detail in the first leg was too much to come back from eventually. The Colombians now face Emelec in a game between (theoretically at least) two of the top teams.
LDU Quito, the team that collected the most points throughout South America (look out for the next TOP ranking!), won late but comfortably against Nacional Asunción. An 86th minute penalty from Juan Cavallero gave them a 1-0 victory on the night, 2-0 on aggregate. They now face the struggling defending champions River Plate, who only enter the competition in the upcoming round.
The only Uruguayan team left, Defensor Sporting, looked good at least in their away win at Peruvian side Universitario. Facundo Castro should score the only goal of the match already five minutes in. Since they won their home leg 3-0 as well, they now get to face Lanús as previously mentioned.
Huracán beat Tigre again, this time 1-0 (6-2 aggregate), Federico Mancinelli scored the winner an hour into the game. The Argentinians battle Brazil’s Recife in the next round.
Finally, Sportivo Luqueño smacked Deportivo La Guaira 4-0 (5-1 on aggregate). While the Paraguayan teams look really strong, La Guaira was the last Venezuelan team to wave goodbye.
Here is the overview of the round of 16 matchups:
LDU Quito – River Plate
Chapecoense – Libertad
Sportivo Luqueño – Deportes Tolima
Brasília – Atlético Paranaense
Defensor Sporting – Lanús
Huracán – Sport Recife
Santa Fe – Emelec
Olimpia – Independiente
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