The Barcelona of Ecuador defeated on Wednesday University of Peru by 0-1 in the second leg of the second phase of the Copa Libertadores, which allowed them, after their 2-0 win in the first leg, to qualify for the third phase where they will face América Mineiro from Brazil. The team from Guayaquil arrived with a comfortable lead in Lima and, despite losing a player in the first few minutes, managed to advance in the tournament, as did América Mineiro, which eliminated the Guaraní from Paraguay in the penalty shootout.
The Argentine Emmanuel Martínez eluded the cream defense and fired a shot that opened the scoring in the 66th minute for Barcelona, leaving the National Stadium in Lima speechless, which once again had almost 100% attendance after two years. With this result, Universitario, directed by the Uruguayan Alvaro Gutiérrez, bids farewell to the international calendar for the rest of the year.
Barcelona suffered a setback in the 23rd minute of play when the referee sent off Luca Sosa after bringing down Alex Valera as he walked alone to Burrai’s frame. Piero Quispe shot after executing the free kick, but the shot was annulled due to an advanced position, which generated the reaction of the creams and an outbreak of anger with the bullfighters.
Despite the difference in players, Barcelona resumed the offensive in the game and put pressure on Universitario, who felt the urgency to open the scoring to overcome the 2-0 loss received in the first leg in Guayaquil. In the following minutes, both teams wasted chances to score, with shots from Valera and Penilla, and went into the break with a clean score.
In the second half, Urruti and Valera finished off Burrai’s goal, but the shots went wide or hit the post. After the goal scored by Martinez At 66 minutes, the dynamics of the game changed in favor of the visit and the bullfighters sought to increase the result in Lima. In the final minutes, striker Alex Valera was sent off due to an accumulation of fouls, with which both teams finished with ten.