August 19, 2024, 3:30 PM
August 19, 2024, 3:30 PM
The big favorites to win the Copa Libertadores are without certainties this week for a ticket to the quarter-finals, after a start to the knockout series in which only Peñarol managed a large lead.
Even so, The Uruguayan Carbonero (5 times Libertadores champion) who beat The Strongest 4-0 In Montevideo, they also do not have an early ticket to the quarterfinals because they will have to define the tie at the altitude of La Paz (3,600 meters above sea level), a place that is almost always complicated for teams from the plains, although the Bolivian Tigre contributed most of it because they finished as leader of their group in the previous instance.
Among the candidates, River awaits Talleres de Córdoba at the Monumental on Wednesdayafter obtaining a valuable 1-0 victory last week away from home, in the return of the successful coach Marcelo Gallardo to the millionaire bench in an international tournament.
– River dreams of the fifth –
In his first stint as River’s coach (2014-2022), Muñeco led two of the four Libertadores titles won by the popular Argentine club. And towards the fifth he points all his artillery the most successful coach in the history of Millonario (14 titles, 7 of them international).
Something similar to Peñarol awaits Flamengo on Thursday.
Mengao won with authority at the Maracaná in the debut of the round of 16 by 2-0 but Bolívar, another team from La Paz, showed that altitude is no longer the only factor decisive, since they clearly dominated their group in the previous phase and precisely the powerful Flamengo was their escort.
Palmeiras, another team at the top of South American football, was pressured (it lost 2-1 in the first leg) by a Botafogo that on Wednesday goes to Sao Paulo to try to seal its qualification to the quarterfinals and enter the exclusive list of candidates for the continental title.
To the current champion Fluminense is shaking the crown: Only a win at the Maracana on Tuesday against Gremio will prevent them from abdicating after falling 2-1 in Curitiba.
Chilean team Colo Colo dreams of a ticket to the quarterfinalsbut it will not be easy for them in the hot and humid hell of Barranquilla against Junior, after a narrow 1-0 victory in the first leg in Santiago.
It is more difficult for the irregular San Lorenzo of Argentina, the 2014 champion, who lives in a crisis zone, but will have to save his head in Belo Horizonte against Atlético Mineiro after drawing 1-1 at the Nuevo Gasómetro in Buenos Aires.
Sao Paulo and Nacional, historic with three Libertadores titles each, They sealed peace in the first leg (0-0) in Montevideo and in the all or nothing there is no clear candidate for the quarterfinals.
The quarter-finals will be played in September. (week of the 18th first leg and week of the 25th second leg). The semi-finals will be played in the last two weeks of October and the final will be on November 30th in Buenos Aires, in a stadium not yet designated.
Round of 16 second leg match schedule of the 2024 Copa Libertadores that will be played between Tuesday and Thursday (the results of the first leg in parentheses):
In Rio de Janeiro: Fluminense (BRA) 18:00 Gremio (BRA) (1-2)
In Belo Horizonte: Atlético Mineiro (BRA) 20:30 San Lorenzo (ARG) (1-1)
In Barranquilla: Junior (COL) 20:30 Colo Colo (CHI) (0-1)
In La Paz: The Strongest (BOL) 18:00 Peñarol (URU) (0-4)
In Buenos Aires: River Plate (ARG) 20:30 Talleres (ARG) (1-0)
In Sao Paulo: Palmeiras (BRA) 20:30 Botafogo (BRA) (1-2)
In Sao Paulo: Sao Paulo (BRA) 18:00 National (URU) (0-0)
In La Paz: Bolivar (BOL) 20:30 Flamengo (BRA) (0-2)
