Cruzeiro beat nine-man Sao Paulo 2-0 on Thursday to reach the Libertadores Cup semi-finals.
Goals in the last 24 minutes from Henrique and Kleber gave Cruzeiro a 4-1 aggregate victory and a place in an all-Brazilian semi-final with Gremio, who went through on Wednesday.
The night turned sour for Sao Paulo, who have won the trophy four times, when they had Eduardo sent off for a second bookable offense a minute before halftime.
PHOTO: EPA
Cruzeiro went ahead in the 66th when midfielder Henrique curled a shot from the edge of the box inside the far post.
They increased their lead with a penalty by Kleber after captain Andre Dias blocked a shot with his arm and was sent off nine minutes from time.
Both sides are looking for their third title in South America’s equivalent of the UEFA Champions League.
PHOTO: EPA
Argentina’s Estudiantes, who won the tournament three times in a row from 1968 to 1970, beat Defensor Sporting of Uruguay 1-0 in La Plata to line up a semi-final against another Uruguayan side, Nacional.
Striker Leandro Benitez scored in the 13th minute to give Estudiantes a 2-0 aggregate victory.
Benitez, who squandered a late chance to score again, rammed home a poor clearance of Juan Salgueiro’s cross following a good move down the right started by captain Juan Sebastian Veron, whose father Juan Ramon played for the title-winning side.
Defensor had midfielder Carlos Diaz sent off seven minutes from time for a second yellow card offense.
Estudiantes and Defensor, who upset favorites Boca Juniors in the previous round, began the tournament as outsiders
“It’s nearly 40 years since we had a semi-final,” Veron said.
“It’s great for the club, in La Plata,” he added, referring to the first leg to be played at home next Wednesday.
Nacional qualified on Wednesday, becoming the first Uruguayan team to reach the last four since 1988, the year they won the third of their three titles.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS