palm trees will defend the title of the Liberators cup when drawing 1-1 with Atletico Mineiro this Tuesday in Belo Horizonte, a result that helped him access the final of the continental tournament after having drawn 0-0 in the first leg.
The ‘Verdao’ of the Portuguese Abel Ferreira left behind a powerful and expensive payroll thanks to a score by Dudu (68), which cooled the Mineirao stadium, where some 18,000 people entered.
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The visitor goal was enough for the São Paulo players to qualify for the sixth final of Libertadores and to get excited about their third crown in the main club competition in America, after the rises in 1999 and 2020.
The Mineiro de Hulk, Ignacio Fernández and Diego Costa – absent due to injury – went ahead with a goal from Chilean Eduardo Vargas, but suffered with the counterattacks from Palmeiras, who also once again had the outstanding support of goalkeeper Weverton.
The esmeraldas’ rival in the final, which will be played at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on November 27, will come out of the winner of the key between Barcelona (ECU) and Flamengo (BRA), who will collide on Wednesday in Guayaquil. The ‘Fla’ won 2-0 in the first leg.
Once again, the fear of losing prevailed over the desire to win, to put on a show. Although in the ‘Mineirao’ there were, only in the first half, more emotions than in the entire first leg in Sao Paulo. True to the style of Portuguese Abel Ferreira, who led him to his second cup title in 2020, Palmeiras applied his catapult technique: picking himself up and then letting go and attacking fiercely.
Thus, taking advantage of Rony’s speed, he was able to go forward just started the game (2), although the attacker’s shot was cleared by Everson. At the beginning of the complementary part (49), the bearded man again won a duel at the end. Later, when the Galo had already stolen possession and position, the Uruguayan Joaquín Piquerez (25) shook the dominance by taking advantage of a long serve from Weverton. The left-hander’s right hand passed near the far post of the white-haired goalkeeper.
Although the Galo, as in the first leg, had the ball, this time it had less intensity and his attackers, without the injured Costa, looked more controlled. His brain, the Argentine Fernández, had a hard time engaging. However, the hosts demanded Weverton to execute his favorite weapon: recovery in the opposite area after strenuous pressure.
The ‘Seleção’ goalkeeper avoided the fall of his goal by beating Hulk (14) after a misstep from Luan and by rejecting two left-footed shots from Fernández (45 + 1) and ex-Porto (48).
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The suspicion of receiving a goal, which forced him to score double, conditioned Mineiro, so fluid normally to unleash his offense. Until he managed to scare away their ghosts. Mariano opened, from the right, for Jair, who centered behind the emerald defenders.
Vargas, 1.75 meters tall, defeated with his head one of the best defending defenders in the air game in Brazil. The Chilean, who replaced Costa, was close to sentencing the series minutes later, after a pass from Fernández that left him in front of Weverton, but the goalkeeper deflected the shot.
Knowing that a goal made his dream of playing his second cup final bitter, Mineiro sought to bury the key, running the risk of leaving spaces in the rear, a situation that Rony exploited, unsuccessfully, on two occasions, with a shot that it was diverted and an Everson shutdown.
The awakening of São Paulo was successful in the feet of the newly admitted Gabriel Veron, who defeated Nathan in the melee before sneaking the ball into the small area, where Dudu pushed him to make Palmeiras dream of a new cup.
The visitors resisted the onslaught of Mineiro’s powerful attack, which repeatedly collided with the Palmeirense defense and was overwhelmed by elimination anxiety. With little brilliance but effectiveness, Palmeiras is now aiming for the elusive two-time South American championship.
AFP
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