Atlético-GO opened an advantage over São Paulo in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana. This Thursday (1), Dragon beat Tricolor 3-1 at Serra Dourada, in Goiânia, in front of almost 30,000 fans, in the first game of the confrontation, getting close to an unprecedented continental decision.
??❤️ @ACGOficial in advantage! At Serra Dourada, the Dragon did his homework and won the @Sao Paulo FC 3-1 in the CONMEBOL semifinal first leg #South American.
? The return game will be on the 8/9th, at Morumbi.#GreatConquest pic.twitter.com/1qKy437JMA
— CONMEBOL Sudamericana (@SudamericanaBR) September 2, 2022
The return match will be next Thursday (8), at Morumbi, in São Paulo, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time). Goianos will go to the final even if they lose by a goal difference. The Paulistas have to win by three goals or more to qualify in normal time. If the aggregate score of the match ends in a tie, the decision of the spot will be on penalties.
Whoever advances will take on the winner of Independiente Del Valle (Ecuador) and Melgar (Peru) in the final, which will take place on October 1, at the Mario Kempes stadium, in Córdoba (Argentina). In the first leg, last Wednesday (31), at the Casa Blanca stadium, in Quito, the Ecuadorian hosts won 3-0. The return match, next Wednesday (7), will be at Monumental de la Unsa, in Peruvian Arequipa, at 9:30 pm.
Despite São Paulo having adopted an offensive stance in the first minutes, Atlético opened the scoring. At ten, side Dudu crossed low on the right and midfielder Jorginho appeared behind the defense to swing the nets. The Tricolor did not take long to react. In the 22nd minute, midfielder Rodrigo Nestor raised the ball in the area and forward Luciano, with a header, left everything the same.
The São Paulo mission got complicated at 39, when midfielder Igor Gomes received the second yellow card in an interval of eight minutes. With one more, Atlético went up in the second half. At ten minutes, midfielder Shaylon, a former Tricolor player, who had just entered the field, took advantage of a cross from the right by midfielder Marlon Freitas and a failure by goalkeeper Jandrei to put the Dragon in front.
With the match under control, the Goiás team increased the bill, again with an athlete that coach Eduardo Baptista, rookie of the night, sent to the field in the final stage. In the 32nd minute, six minutes after entering, striker Léo Pereira advanced down the left, evading defender Diego Costa and finishing for Jandrei’s goal, setting the score.
?? The Dragon House! It’s already 1️⃣1️⃣ invincibility games of @ACGOficial as principal in CONMEBOL #South American.
? Tonight, 3-1 victory over @Sao Paulo FC in Serra Dourada and advantage in the semifinals!#GreatConquest pic.twitter.com/Yw5aprKssE
— CONMEBOL Sudamericana (@SudamericanaBR) September 2, 2022
Before meeting again for the Sudamericana, Atlético and São Paulo have important commitments this Sunday (4), for the 25th round of the Brazilian Championship, where they fight to distance themselves from the last places. The Dragon welcomes Atlético-MG at Antônio Accioly stadium, in Goiânia, at 18:00h. Tricolor visits Cuiabá at Arena Pantanal, at 7pm.
