Estudiantes de La Plata thrashed Vélez Sarsfield 4-1 on Thursday in the Argentine duel on the first day of Group C of the Copa Libertadores played at the Jorge Luis Hirschi stadium in the city of La Plata.
With goals from Emmanuel Más at 6 minutes, Agustín Rogel (42), the Uruguayan Gustavo Del Prete (53) and Franco Zapiola (88), Pincha, led by Ricardo Zielinski, added his first victory at home.
Vélez scored his only goal through Lucas Janson in the 35th minute.
In the other match of this first day of the zone, this Wednesday Red Bull Bragantino from Brazil had won 2-0 against Nacional de Montevideo.
In an intense match played at a full stadium, Estudiantes was able to impose its best moment and continue with the good results that allowed it to land in this group stage after overcoming two series in the preliminary phase against the Chileans Audax Italiano and Everton de Viña del Mar. .
It didn’t take long for El Pincha to achieve the first advantage on the scoreboard because at minute 6 of the game a millimetric center by Fernando Zuqui found the head of Emmanuel Más to leave goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos without a chance to react.
Vélez was slow to assimilate the blow but in the 36th minute he equalized through a stopped ball that was connected by Santiago Cáseres to leave the ball on the head of Lucas Janson who with a strong blow nullified goalkeeper Mariano Andújar’s stretch that he took the ball from inside the goal.
The locals responded in the same way with a free kick in the 42nd minute sent by Fernando Zuqui who found two headers before Agustín Rogel scored.
To this blow at the end of the first half was added a new one at the start of the complement, more precisely in the 53rd minute when a frontal shot left Lautaro Gianetti in a bad position. Leandro Díaz enabled the Uruguayan Gustavo Del Prete who scored at the near post.
Vélez rotated his bench at the hands of his interim coach Julio Vaccari with the entry mainly of Abiel Osorio, who ten minutes later crashed a header into the post.
Estudiantes launched a counterattack in the 88th minute. Emmanuel Más threw newcomer Mauro Boselli into the area and youthful Franco Zapiola barely pushed the ball into the back of the net.
On the second day of Group C, Estudiantes will visit Nacional at the Montevideo Centenario next Wednesday and the following day Vélez will host Bragantino at the José Amalfitani stadium in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Liniers.
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