Five-times South American champions Penarol set up a classic Libertadores Cup final against Santos on Thursday, the Uruguayans advancing on the away-goals rule despite losing 2-1 to favorites Velez Sarsfield.
Velez, champions in 1994, beat Penraol 2-1 in an exciting second leg of their semi-final at the Fortin, but the visitors edged the tie after registering a 1-0 victory in Montevideo.
Penarol, who lifted the last of their titles in 1987, will meet twice champions Santos over two legs in the final after the Brazilians beat Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday.
Photo: AFP
It will be the second final meeting between the sides in 49 years after Pele’s Santos beat Penarol in 1962.
Velez will pinpoint three key moments that cost them a chance of victory: when they first had a goal disallowed for offside, had central defender Fernando Ortiz sent off in the 69th minute and then saw striker Santiago Silva miss a late penalty that would have put the Argentine’s through.
Penarol shocked Velez by taking the lead in the 34th minute to move 2-0 ahead on aggregate, just reward for their better play up to that point.
Alejandro Martinuccio linked in the middle with fellow striker Juan Manuel Olivera and fed the ball left, where midfielder Matias Mier shot under goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero.
Velez striker Juan Manuel Martinez had a goal disallowed near the end of the first half for offside — an incorrect decision according to video replays — and tempers flared just before halftime when Silva went down with his marker Carlos Valdez and the home side claimed a penalty.
However, the Argentine side equalized in first-half injury time when goalkeeper Sebastian Sosa failed to hold a Maxi Moralez free kick and substitute right back Fernando Tobio bundled the ball in.
Olivera missed a good chance to put the match beyond Velez in the 67th minute when Argentine Martinuccio set him up with only Barovero to beat, but he sliced his shot wide.
Within a minute, Silva had fired Velez in front off the post, but the joy was short-lived when Ortiz was dismissed minutes later for a foul on Martinuccio, having been shown his first yellow card in the first half for dissent.
Martinez earned 10-man Velez a penalty with a quarter of an hour remaining and a chance to go ahead for the first time in the tie when he was brought down on the edge of the box.
However, when Uruguayan Silva took the spot-kick, his supporting foot slipped as he shot and the ball ballooned over the bar.
The Uruguayans’ joy at the final whistle, not least their brilliant 45-year-old coach Diego Aguirre, who scored the winning goal for their 1987 title-winning side, contrasted dramatically with the pain on the faces of the Velez fans.
“I’m very happy going back to a final with Penarol with all the history we have,” Aguirre said.
“It was obvious we didn’t come here to defend, we came to play, as we have done up to now. That’s why I think it’s right that we should be living this dream,” he told Fox Sports. “I’m proud to be with this group [of players] who are returning to the glory [days] we had a long time ago.”
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS