The palm treestwo-time champion Libertadores Cupdefeated this Wednesday by 1-0 the Ecuadorian Emelec and leads Group A with fifteen points. A goal by midfielder Danilo, who had just received his first call-up for the Brazilian team, gave victory to Palmeiras, already qualified for the round of 16 and who had secured first place in the group, now with a ten-point advantage over Emelec, their immediate follower.
The Verdao, of the Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira, was about to open the scoring in a play by Marcos Rocha and Rony, which was left over for the Colombian Eduard Atuesta, but the visiting goalkeeper Pedro Ortiz had better luck.
Then it was the creative Gustavo Scarpa, on two occasions, and the Paraguayan defender Gustavo Gómez who brought Palmeiras closer to the goal in a first half of total dominance by the local team and in which the visitors, led by the Spanish Ismael Rescalvo, did not find the North.
In the second half, Atuesta again, striker Rafael Navarro and Rony had clear scoring opportunities, until at 73 minutes, on a corner kick executed by Raphael Veiga, Danilo anticipated his markers and made it 1-0.
From that moment on, the locals gained control of the ball and were able to extend the advantage with clear arrivals from Rafael Navarro and Dudú, but Ortiz always avoided a goal from the Brazilian fans. The match was played at the Allianz Paqrque stadium in Sao Paulo, before more than 32,500 fans, under the refereeing of Chilean Nicolás Gamboa.
On the sixth and final day, Palmeiras will receive Deportivo Táchira and Emelec will host Independiente Petrolero in Guayaquil. Ecuadorians and Venezuelans dispute the second quota for the next phase.
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