By Louis Smith.
The road to Montevideo has reached the semi-final stage, and it is a familiar-looking picture in the Copa Libertadores, with three Brazilian sides and one Argentine side remaining after what was a thrilling and exciting week of action in South America’s greatest club competition.
Corinthians v Estudiantes
We begin in São Paulo, where Corinthians and Estudiantes of Argentina battled it out following a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Corinthians, obviously being the home side, had the initiative to try and use their fans to build momentum and get the job done.
It was Corinthians who had the better of the chances. However, they didn’t really trouble Facundo Muslera between the sticks to begin with. André Carrillo had a great shot from outside the box, but that was really it in the first half as Estudiantes restricted them very well.
The best chance of the game fell to Matheus Bidu, who forced Muslera into a save. However, in the dying embers of the game, after soaking up pressure for long periods, it was the Argentine side who stunned Timão as Tomás Palacios put in a great cross from the left-hand side for Alexis Castro to volley home. A great strike and a cleanly struck ball that broke Corinthians’ hearts.
That seemed to be the case until the last kick of the game, when Leandro Pires handled the ball in the area. The referee didn’t initially give a penalty, sparking a wild reaction from the Corinthians players, who swarmed the referee.
After a VAR check, the penalty was confirmed, meaning Memphis Depay had a great opportunity to send the match to a penalty shootout. However, stepping up, he struck the ball high and wide into the stands.
The referee then concluded the match, and Estudiantes had completed a shock 2-1 aggregate win, making sure that it wouldn’t be an all-Brazilian semi-final picture.
LDU Quito v Palmeiras
LDU Quito and Palmeiras battled it out once again following their epic semi-final encounter last year. On that occasion, LDU Quito won the first leg 3-0 before Palmeiras stunned them on home soil with a remarkable 4-0 victory.
This time around, Palmeiras played at home first and headed to Quito with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg, and maybe they were a little worried about what LDU might throw at them on home soil.
However, just ten minutes into the match, Marlon Freitas struck from close range following a corner to make it 1-0.
Palmeiras don’t give up leads easily, but this time they did. Another corner caused problems, with Luis Segovia heading home to make it 1-1 on the night and give LDU some hope.
The next goal wouldn’t come until the second half, and this time it came from the penalty spot. Vitor Roque sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, smashing the ball home to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. With not long remaining, surely that had effectively ended the tie?
However, LDU Quito had other ideas.
Some great work down the right-hand side from Yerlin Quiñónez saw him whip the ball into Michael Estrada, whose header was brilliantly saved by Carlos Miguel between the sticks for Palmeiras. However, Estrada pounced on the rebound, putting the Ecuadorians within one goal of Palmeiras and giving their fans hope.
LDU must have realised that the right-hand side was a problem area for Palmeiras because once again, that was where the danger came from. This time, substitute Alexander Alvarado whipped the ball into the area, and Estrada’s header was too powerful for Miguel, sending the tie to the dreaded penalty shootout.
After all their hard work fighting their way back into the tie, it wasn’t to be for LDU, who suffered penalty shootout heartbreak.
After Felipe Anderson made it 4-3, Segovia stepped up knowing he had to score to keep LDU alive. However, he missed, sending Palmeiras into the semi-finals, where they will be hoping to go one step better than last season’s runners-up finish.
Atletico Platense v Fluminense
Fluminense put in a solid performance to beat Platense 2-0 in the first leg, giving themselves an important advantage heading into the return fixture. They knew going to Argentina would be difficult and that they would have to be at the top of their game, which made that two-goal cushion even more important.
However, a sloppy start and a poor first half from Fluminense saw the Argentine side dominate proceedings. Platense continued to put the Brazilian side under pressure and, by the stroke of half-time, had managed to claw their way back onto level terms in the tie.
Fábio was forced into some key saves early on, but he was finally beaten when Guido Mainero’s effort took a fortunate deflection and bounced over the veteran goalkeeper. There was very little Fábio could do about it, but it gave the Argentine side real hope.
On the stroke of half-time, it was 2-0. Goalscorer Mainero turned provider, whipping a lovely ball into the area for striker Bruno Sepúlveda to head home, sending the home support into pandemonium and bringing Platense level on aggregate.
However, Fluminense got one back, and it came through that man, Agustín Canobbio. A wind-up merchant, but his composure in this moment was fantastic. He cut inside before firing the ball beyond the goalkeeper to restore Flu’s aggregate advantage.
From there, Fluminense’s game plan was clear: sit back and counter. Platense pushed forward as they desperately tried to level the tie once again, but Fábio stood strong between the sticks.
The veteran goalkeeper produced two important saves late on, including a fantastic double save in the closing moments of the match, helping fire Fluminense into the Copa Libertadores semi-finals.
Flamengo v Independiente del Valle
Flamengo did a fantastic job in Ecuador, securing a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Bruno Henrique and Léo Pereira, which gave them a great advantage heading into the second leg on home soil.
However, it was the Ecuadorian side who put Flamengo under early pressure when Djorkaeff Reasco opened the scoring following a counterattack.
Flamengo had the majority of the ball and looked the more threatening side, but Independiente del Valle knew how to sit back and try to counter, doing their best to stay in the tie against one of the powerhouses of South American football, the Rubro-Negro.
Independiente del Valle were then handed a glorious opportunity to get themselves back into the tie when Jorginho was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. With a 1-0 lead on the night, the Ecuadorian side began pushing for the second goal they desperately needed, and the Flamengo supporters were starting to get very nervous.
However, a long kick from Diego Rossi took a freakish bounce that completely caught out the Independiente del Valle back line and goalkeeper. Giorgian De Arrascaeta was there to pounce, wasting no time in tapping the ball into an empty net and ending any hopes of an Ecuadorian comeback.
The goal sent Flamengo into the next round of the Copa Libertadores, and the defending champions are looking strong as they continue their push for back-to-back titles.
The semi-finals will take place after the international window, with the first legs getting underway during the week beginning October 13.
Estudiantes will host Flamengo in the first leg, while Fluminense will take on Palmeiras in the other tie. It promises to be an exciting pair of two-legged encounters with a place in the final in Montevideo at stake.
Will we get an all Fla-Flu final? Will Palmeiras and Flamengo lock horns once again? Or can Estudiantes upset the Brazilian dominance and knock out Flamengo?
It promises to be an intriguing battle as the road to Montevideo enters its final stages.