After a new goalless draw, Palmeiras beat Atlético-MG 6-5 in the penalty shootout and qualified for the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday night (10) at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo.
??⚽ Dream of the tetra lives on! With 2️⃣ fewer players, the @Palmeiras eliminated the @Athletic on penalties and advanced to the CONMEBOL semifinals #Liberators.
? #athletic or #students will be alviverde’s next rival in the search for #GloriaEterna! pic.twitter.com/iMQThuEdFy
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) August 11, 2022
Verdão’s next opponent will come out of the clash between Athletico-PR and Estudiantes (Argentina), who will face each other again this Thursday (11) in La Plata, after a goalless draw in the first leg at Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba.
Despite the match starting with a certain balance, Palmeiras did not take long to take charge of the actions, having as their best opportunity a ball crossed in the area by Dudu in the 7th minute. The pass was aimed at Gustavo Scarpa, but Arana was smarter and got the cut.
The scenario began to change in the 27th minute, when midfielder Danilo was sent off by the referee, with the help of VAR (video referee), after committing a hard foul on Zaracho. With that, Verdão started to have a more conservative posture, leaving less for the attack. Galo, on the other hand, had many difficulties in creating, having as the best opportunity of the stage a first-time submission by Hulk after a cross by Mariano.
With a numerical disadvantage, Abel Ferreira posted his team in an even more closed way in the second half. With no spaces to play, Galo found it difficult to create opportunities. Verdão, on the other hand, made up for the absence of a player with the greatest technical capacity, to try to do something, such as the submission of Zé Rafael in the 10th minute.
⏱ 75′
⚽ @Palmeiras 0-0 @Athletic#GloriaEterna pic.twitter.com/0sgvEnZWLR— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) August 11, 2022
Five minutes later, Atlético-MG had their clearest opportunity, when Mariano lifted the ball in the area, where Jair arrived, finishing with a lot of danger from a fish. At 21, it was Allan who arrived well, with a shot from outside the area that stopped in Weverton’s defense.
The situation of Palmeiras got even more complicated in the 36th minute, when Scarpa entered Allan on his own and ended up receiving the straight red card. From there, Galo started to collect good scoring opportunities, such as a shot by Hulk that passed in the 46th minute, a cross by shirt 7 a minute later that ended up hitting the post and a long-range shot by Junior Alonso that was saved. by Weverton.
The point is that on the other side of the field was a very brave Palmeiras, who held the 0-0 up to the end of the 90 minutes, before which the Chilean Vargas was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the match.
⚽? End of normal time! @Palmeiras and @Athletic tied without goals, and the qualified to the semifinals of CONMEBOL #Liberators will be decided on penalties.#GloriaEterna pic.twitter.com/iJK1pABs0h
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@LibertadoresBR) August 11, 2022
penalty shootout
In the penalty shootout, Hulk opened the kicks, hitting very well. Raphael Veiga didn’t fail to draw. Nacho hit the low half to give Galo the advantage again. The Paraguayan Gustavo Gómez moved the goalkeeper to make it 2-2. The midfielder Jair hit the angle in his free kick. And Zé Rafael hit hard, in the corner, and equalized again. Eduardo Sasha converted his. The Uruguayan Piquerez hit a bomb in the angle, but Junior Alonso kicked with class to make it 5 to 4. Rony won the pressure and kept the dispute open. Then came the turn of Rubens in the alternating charges, and the midfielder hit weakly, allowing the defense of Weverton. It was then left to defender Murilo to decide the dispute, and he did not fail, guaranteeing a heroic classification for Verdão.
After the continental confrontation, Palmeiras will play against Corinthians on Saturday (13) for the Brazilian. A day later, Atlético-MG visit Coritiba at Couto Pereira.
