COPA LIBERTADORES semifinal (2nd leg).
PALMEIRAS 2-2 (2-3 agg.) ATHLETICO PARANAESE
Athletico Paranaense’s ambition of winning the first Copa Libertadores title remains alive after keeping the value of their 1-0 home win in the first by avoiding a defeat against Palmeiras in the second leg.
Palmeiras needed to get beyond Athletico Paranaense to get to their third consecutive Copa Libertadores final and possibly become champions for the third year in a row.
Athletico Paranaense’s second-half substitute Pablo entered the game in the 63rd minute and scored a minute late to equalize the tie on aggregates. Another second-half substitute Devid Terans scored the game‘s equalizing goal/tie-winning goal for Athletico Paranaense to take a 3-2 aggregate win to the final.
When Gustavo Scarpa scored in the 3rd minute to give Palmeiras the lead, it looked like the favorites were on track to another final.
Unfortunately for Palmeiras, they ended the first half with a numerical disadvantage when Murilo Cerqueira picked a red card in the 3rd minute of the added time to leave Palmeiras with a lead to protect while also searching for the game-winning goals. Palmeiras found the second goal in the 55th minute through Gustavo Gomez’s goal.
The last time Athletico Paranaense was in a Copa Libertadores final was in 2005; when they lost the final to Sao Paulo on a 5-1 agg. score.
FLAMENGO 2-0 (6-1 agg.) VELEZ SARSFIELD
It would have taken a miracle for the biggest collapse in football’s history for Flamengo to lose the second leg after gaining a 4-0 lead to protect at home against Velez Sarsfield.
Even though it was highly improbable for Velez Sarsfield to turn the tie in their favor, they sparked our interest when Lucas Pratto scored in the 21st minute to get them a 1-0 lead at a 4-1 aggregate score. The chance of a comeback got more unlikely when Flamengo got the equalizing goal in the 42nd minute through Pedro. A well-worked goal by Flamengo was finished off with a strike from Marinho to get Flamengo a 2-1 win lead in the 68th minute to seal the tie.
THE FINAL
OCTOBER 29. 2022
Flamengo vs Athletico Paranaense
Flamengo makes a return to the Copa Libertadores final after losing it last year against Palmeiras. They will look for their third title in the competition against an Athletico Paranaense side looking to make history by winning their first.
