Quito League put one foot in the final of the Libertadores Cup by beating the almighty 3-0 Palmeiras in the first leg of the tournament’s semifinals, in which the Brazilian team lost the undefeated status it had maintained in this championship. With two goals from the Bolivian Gabriel Villamil, at 16 and 27 minutes, and another from the Argentine Lisandro Alzugaray, from a penalty in the minutes of the first half, the ‘King of Cups’ of Ecuador starred in a dream night to get excited about once again competing for the top continental title that he already won in 2008.
The permanent pressure, the changes of front, the deep and first-intention passes of the League, upset the Verdäo defense, which took refuge in corner kicks, but it was not enough and saw its goal fall three times. The Ecuadorian team, led by Brazilian coach Tiago Nunes, showed great hierarchy to beat Palmeiras, which had a streak of nine wins and one draw in this edition of the Libertadores.
Vitor Roque did not have his best night and ended up substituted
Villamil scored the first for the white team after dominating the ball between several defenders inside the area and delivering a powerful shot that goalkeeper Carlos Miguel failed to control, after a delayed pass from Quiñónez, in the 16th minute. A handball from Pereira inside his defensive zone led LDU to have a penalty that Azulgaray did not waste to put the game back on track for the local team.
On the brink of half-time, Bryan Ramírez entered the opponent’s area and, in a play similar to that of the first goal, gave a precise pass backwards so that the Bolivian Villamil could once again finish first and make it 3-0. Only twice in the first half did Palmeiras manage to escape the pressure and persistent dominance of the home team, but Raphael Veiga’s shots went over the crossbar and Alexander Domínguez blocked Vitor Roque’s shot.
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Domínguez, who played after Gonzalo Valle’s late injury, blocked a shot from close range by Argentine Flaco López, just beginning the second half. The Quito team slowed down its game in the second half and Palmeiras began to work better in the game. Despite the freedoms that LDU granted, the 1999, 2020 and 2021 Libertadores champions did not know how to take advantage of the quality of their attackers, because they lacked greater ambition.
TECHNICAL SHEET
3 – Quito League: Alexander Dominguez; Kevin Minda, Ricardo Adé, Richard Mina (d.69, Josué Cuero); José Quintero, Carlos Gruezo, Gabriel Villamil, Leonel Quiñónez; Bryan Ramírez, Lisandro Alzugaray (m.81, Lautaro Pastrán) and Jeison Medina (m.88, Michael Estrada).
0 – Palmeiras: Carlos Miguel; Khellven (d.46, Agustín Giay), Gustavo Gómez, Murilo, Joaquín Piquerez; Emiliano Martínez (m.69, Allan), Andreas Pereira (m.64, Jefté), Raphael Veiga (m.46, Ramón Sosa), Anderson; Flaco López and Vitor Roque (m.82, Bruno Rodrígues).
Goals: 1-0, Gabriel Villamil (m. 16); 2-0, Lisandro Alzugaray (m. 27); 3-0, Gabriel Villamil (m. 45+2)
Referee: Facundo Tello, from Argentina, admonished López, Gruezo, Alzugaray, Ramírez, Mina and Quiñónez. Ramírez was sent off (m.90+6) with a direct red card.
Incidents: First leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-final, played at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito, in front of around 40,000 spectators.
Bruno Rodrigues gained control of the ball from the League defenders, in the first time he played after replacing Vitor Roque and fired a shot for goal, but goalkeeper Domínguez saved his team in the 83rd minute. At the end of the game, the League attacker, Bryan Ramírez, was sent off. The second leg will be played next Thursday in Brazilian territory, from which the finalist for the current Libertadores title will emerge.
