A Penarol This Wednesday his formula of winning his last matches with minimal differences did not work for him and this Tuesday he was left out of the Libertadores Cup by equalizing 0-0 with Cerro Porteno on the fifth and penultimate date of the group stage.
In the match corresponding to Group G played at the Champion of the Century stadium in Montevideo, the local team missed a great opportunity when Pablo Ceppelini failed from twelve steps and stayed at the bottom of the table with four points.
For its part, the eleven led by Francisco ‘Chiqui’ Arce rescued a great result that left him first with eight integers, one more than those accumulated by the Argentine Colón and three more than those that the also Paraguayan Olimpia has.
Despite the fact that the local needed an urgent victory, in the first part they did little to achieve it. A distant shot by Agustín Álvarez Martínez that did not complicate goalkeeper Jean Paulo Fernandes was the most dangerous move generated by the eleven led by Mauricio Larriera.
Ignacio Laquintana’s climbs down the right sector also complicated the defense of the Paraguayan team, although the speedy striker failed a lot when it came to defining.
On the other hand, the short touches in the defensive sector, the calmness of the midfielders to handle the ball and the high pressure when defending some actions marked the game of Cerro Porteño.
The visitors arrived in Montevideo with seven units in their pocket and took advantage of their leadership status to play without rushing.
Penalty missed in the second half
In the second part, Cerro Porteño started better and got closer twice through Alan Benítez, who every time he tried to dodge Juan Manuel Ramos’ mark.
However, the one who had the dream opportunity was Peñarol when the referee sanctioned a penalty for a foul committed on Ceppelini. Just as he had done in the last two games played by his team, number 8 himself was the one who was in charge of shooting from eleven meters, although this time the end of the story was different. His shot went over the crossbar and the home team missed his big chance.
With no more clear scoring options, the match ended in a goalless draw, a result that left Peñarol out of the Copa Libertadores. The Uruguayan team posted another poor performance in the main continental tournament at club level, in which they have not reached the round of 16 since 2011.
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