1-1: Quito League, Copa Sudamericana champion

The Ecuadorianor League of Quito This Saturday he established himself as the new champion of South American Cup after defeating the Brazilian 3-4 Strength after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes of play. An impressive performance by Alexander Domínguez from the penalty spot allowed Luis Zubeldía’s team to once again win the title they won in the 2009 season.

The goalkeeper stopped three shots and was the great figure of the match played at the Domingo Burgueño Miguel stadium in the Uruguayan city of Punta del Este. In the 90th minute, a great goal from Argentine Lisandro Alzugaray kept the hopes alive for the Ecuadorians, who started behind on the scoreboard thanks to a goal also from Argentine Juan Martín Lucero.

From the start, Fortaleza turned their attack back to the right and relied on good play from Marinho to make the work of a side always supported by midfielder Jhojan Julio difficult. On the other hand, Liga de Quito had problems developing dangerous plays and that led to attacker Paolo Guerrero having to retreat several meters and even move to the edges of the field to receive the ball.

Around 17 minutes, Marinho took advantage of an error by his opponent in the middle of the field to create one of the best plays of the first half. But after leaving the two rivals, the Brazilian team’s number 12 could not be identified and Fortaleza missed its first good chance.

The Ecuadorians responded with a set piece and a header that went over the crossbar. They also got close to Julio’s long shot that went wide. In this way, without the games that complicated the goalkeepers Alexander Domínguez and Joao Ricardo, the first half of the final ended in a goalless draw.

At the start of the second half it took just three minutes to break the deadlock. Argentine Tomás Pochettino burst in from the right, served the ball into the middle and Lucero expected his marker to produce a powerful shot that left Domínguez with no options and became Fortaleza’s first goal.

But the Brazilians’ joy was short-lived, as Argentine Alzugaray leveled the game nine minutes later with a fine goal from his left foot. The number 9 came on at the end of the first half for the injured Renato Ibarra and a few minutes on the field was enough to make him one of the heroes of the day.

Fortaleza went on the attack to retake the lead and almost got it with a powerful shot from Yago Pikachu that drew a good response from Domínguez. The number 22 of the Brazilian team had several fans in the stands who wore Pokémon character hats and costumes and displayed banners with messages for him.

It was one of the last dangerous plays in a match where Fortaleza held the ball more than the Liga de Quito and where they both came close to the opposing goal. The 1-1 draw sent the match into extra time where fatigue caused the intensity of both teams to drop.

In the early part of the last 30 minutes, a header from Brazilian defender Tinga and a shot from Guerrero that the rival defense stopped the chances created by both teams. In the second half, the Fortaleza captain once again headed into the rival area and saw Domínguez stop.

The score did not change and five years after the final between Brazil’s Athletico Paranaense and Colombian Junior, the Copa Sudamericana was once again decided on penalties. Dominguez was the great figure there. The goalkeeper stopped shots from Silvio Romero, Pedro Augusto and Emanuel Brítez to give Liga de Quito, the new Copa Sudamericana champions, a new international title.

DATA SHEET

1 – Quito League: Alexander Dominguez; José Alfredo Quintero, Ricardo Adé, Facundo Rodríguez, Leonel Quiñónez (m.96, Bryan Ramírez); Mauricio Martínez, Lucas Piovi; Renato Ibarra (m.39, Lisandro Alzugaray), Sebastián González (m.63, Alexander Alvarado), Jhojan Julio and Paolo Guerrero
1 – Strength: João Ricardo; Tinga, Emanuel Brítez, Titi, Bruno Pacheco; Ze Welison (d.82, Pedro Augusto), Caio Alexandre (d.105, Lucas Sasha); Marinho (m.72, Imanol Machuca), Tomás Pochettino (m.82, Thiago Galhardo), Guilherme (m.64, Yago Pikachu) and Juan Martín Lucero (m.99, Silvio Romero)
The objectives: 1-0, Juan Marín Lucero (m. 48); 1-1, Lisandro Alzugaray (m. 56)
Penalty shootouts: 0-0: Paolo Guerrero (goalkeeper stopped). 1-0: Thiago Galhardo. 1-1: Lisandro Alzugaray. 2-1: Yago Pikachu. 2-2: Mauricio Martínez. 2-2: Silvio Romero (goalkeeper saved). 2-3: Jhojan Julio. 3-3: Look. 3-3: Alexander Alvarado (goalkeeper saved). 3-3: Pedro Augusto (goalkeeper saves). 3-4: Lucas Piovi. 3-4: Emanuel Brítez (goalkeeper save)
Referee: The Venezuelan Jesús Valenzuela. He warned Cio Alexandre, Paolo Guerrero, Guilherme, Marinho, Emanuel Brítez and Lucas Piovi
Incidents: Final of the South American Cup, played at the Domingo Burgueño Miguel stadium in Punta del Este