Meanwhile, Palmeiras routed Junior 4-1 in São Paulo, and the “Verdao” advanced to the round of 16
At La Nueva Olla Stadium, Sporting Cristal was unable to beat Cerro Porteño and lost 2-0, finishing in third place in Group F of the Copa Libertadores. The Celestes now have 6 points and will play in the Copa Sudamericana playoffs against a team that finished in second place.
To advance to the round of 16, Crsital needed something that seemed impossible on paper: a win, plus a victory by Junior de Barranquilla over Palmeiras in São Paulo. In the end, neither of those things happened.
In the first half, the Bajopontinos showed almost no creativity on offense and didn't seem to have that urgency to win. On the other hand, Cerro Porteño began to come out gradually, aware that they were the favorites on their home field and needed to secure the three points to cement their position at the top of the standings.
In the other match at Allianz Parque, Palmeiras was already routing Junior and had made it impossible for Cristal to advance to the next round, but even so, that didn’t change the Rimenses’ attitude. In the 50th minute, Pablo Vegetti scored the 1-0 goal off a pass from Jorge Morel. Fifteen minutes later, a penalty kick was awarded to the Azulgranas, immediately after a potential red card for Cristal was rescinded.
From the penalty spot, Cecilio Domínguez scored to make it 2-0 in the 66th minute—a sort of redemption for him, since in the opening-round match played in Callao, he was sent off and his team lost 1-0 to that same opponent.
With this result, Cerro Porteño ultimately tops Group F with 13 points, two more than second-place Palmeiras. Meanwhile, Cristal and Cienciano will both advance to the round of 16 playoffs in the Copa Sudamericana.
