He Palmeiras managed to overcome the atrocious defeat of the first leg against Liga de Quito and sealed its qualification to the final of the Copa Libertadores with a 4-0 this Thursday at the Allianz Parque, the seventh it will play in its history. Coach Abel Ferreira promised a “magical night” and he delivered. Despite the Ecuadorians’ dense defensive line, Palmeiras managed to find space and scored the four goals they needed to advance to the next phase. In this way, Verdão is going for its fourth continental title after the conquests achieved in 1999, 2020 and 2021.
Gustavo Gómez (Palmeiras), on the ground with Jeison Medina
The first goal of the night came in the 19th minute from the feet of Ramón Sosa, who surprised goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez with a header. At 45+5, Fuchs efficiently completed a rehearsed set piece play and managed to accomplish half of the mission before the end of the first half. The team led by Tiago Nunes threatened little, prioritized defending its victory last week at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium but without too many weapons, and lost its mark and its direction on repeated occasions.
At 45+5, Fuchs efficiently completed a rehearsed set piece play and managed to accomplish half of the mission before the end of the first half. The team led by Tiago Nunes threatened little, prioritized defending its victory last week at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium but without too many weapons, and lost its mark and its direction on repeated occasions. At 67 minutes, a recently introduced Raphael Veiga received a masterful assist from Vítor Roque and pushed the ball to the center of the goal, avoiding the Ecuadorian goalkeeper and crowning the third goal that tied the overall score. It was Veiga who minutes later took the winning penalty, after a foul by Gruezo, which brought down Allan inside the area. Vítor Roque had been in charge of kicking the maximum penalty, but decided to give the ball to Veiga, who shot into the center of the goal and gave Palmeiras the possibility of playing in the Cup final without going through the penalty shootout.
TECHNICAL SHEET
4 – Palmeiras: Carlos Miguel; Gustavo Gómez, Murilo Cerqueira, Bruno Fuchs (d.75, Khellven); Allan (m.86, Giay), Joaquín Piquerez, Andreas Pereira, Mauricio (m.63, Raphael Veiga), Ramón Sosa (m.63, Felipe Anderson), Juan Manuel ‘Flaco’ López, Vitor Roque (m.85, Aníbal Moreno).
0 – Quito League: Alexander Dominguez; Richard Mina (m.84, Freddy Mina), Ricardo Adé, José Quintero, Josué Cuero (m.74, Daniel de la Cruz); Leonel Quiñónez, Carlos Gruezo, Fernando Cornejo (d.74, Alexander Alvarado); Gabriel Villamil; Lisandro Alzugaray (m.46, Lautaro Pastrán), Jeison Medina (m.66, Michael Estrada).
Goals: 1-0, Ramón Sosa (m. 19); 2-0, Bruno Fuchs (m. 45+5); 3-0, Raphael Veiga (m. 67); 4-0, Raphael Veiga, from a penalty (m. 82)
Referee: The Colombian Wilmar Roldán, who admonished Gómez, Quintero, Mina, Roque, Villamil, Veiga and Gruezo.
Incidents: Second leg match of the Copa Libertadores semi-finals at the Allianz Parque.
After six minutes of extra time, the referee whistled the end of the game and Abel Ferreira, on the day he celebrated his fifth anniversary in charge of the club, threw himself onto the grass of an Allianz Parque full of fans and cried, while the players came up to celebrate. Now, the Copa Libertadores will be defined between two Brazilian teams: Flamengo awaits it at the Monumental stadium in Lima, on November 29, the second time that both have met in a final of the continental tournament.
