Libertad could not sustain the advantage it achieved and Athletico Paranaense tied it at 90: it was 1-1 at Defensores del Chaco on Tuesday, a result that left the Paraguayan champion out of the Copa Libertadores round of 16.
Libertad was the one who took the initiative in the game and made the expense to go find the difference he needed after the 1-2 suffered in the first leg in Brazil.
The Brazilians, however, had isolated situations that put the local team at risk, but Martín Silva with accurate interventions contained those punctual chances of Furacão.
In the additional time of the first half (45+4′), a genius by Roque Santa Cruz put Libertad ahead: a masterful personal play by the historic striker led to the score of 1-0, becoming the scorer with the most age to score in a heads-up series in the Cup at 40 years old.
In the second half, Gumarelo controlled the procedure in a good way and Paranaense did not cause any major inconveniences, so with the minimum advantage, everything was heading for the definition by penalties in Saxony.
But a series of errors resulted in the blow. An avoidable foul gave Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team a high-risk free kick, from which he sent the shot against the Paraguayan area. Martín Silva, figure in the entire series, let the ball escape after a header and the rebound was used by Rómulo, who at 90 ‘declared the 1-1 at Defensores del Chaco.
With the agonizing equality, Athletico Paranaense won the key with a 3-2 aggregate and ended the illusion of those led by Daniel Garnero to continue in the race in the continental tournament.
