Gremio was reborn in the hands of Diego Costa, defeated the leader and dreams of the second round

Guildwho returned to the field on Wednesday after a month out due to severe floods that hit the south of Brazil, falling 4-0 against The Strongest Bolivian, revived in the classification of Group C of Libertadores Cup and, with two games in less, dream of advancing to the round of 16.

The three-time Libertadores champions defeated the group leader with a score from Venezuelan attacker Yeferson Soteldo in the first half and goals from winger João Pedro, striker Everton Galdino and forward Gustavo Nunes in the second. The Porto Alegre team, which is last in the classification of Group C, rose to third place, with 6 points, and two points behind the Chilean Huachipato (8) and four behind The Strongest (10), which guaranteed their spot. in the next stage.

The team led by coach Renato ‘Gaúcho’ needs only two draws in the two remaining games after being delayed by floods (they will visit Chilean Huachipato on June 4 and host Estudiantes on June 8) to qualify for second . But he can still advance as the leader of the group, and dethrone The Strongest, if he wins both matches.

Despite dominating the field and the victory, the Brazilian team showed a lack of rhythm after a month of stoppage due to rains that flooded Porto Alegre, including the Arena del Gremio stadium, as the players, who some of them helped in the rescue operations. , they just returned to training a few days ago.

The team, which had to play 740 kilometers from Porto Alegre in the stadium provided by the Coritiba club, entered the field with a large strip that said it was “playing together for the reconstruction” of Porto Alegre, while, at the request of Conmebol , a minute of silence was observed in tribute to the “victims of the climate tragedy.”

Gremio attacked, mainly led by veteran Diego Costa, the Brazilian who shone for Atlético de Madrid and played with the Spanish team, who took over on the right wing, where he always helped his teammates. The local team opened the scoring in the 14th minute after Diego Costa’s assist from the right, which Yeferson Soteldo first connected with inside the area to beat Viscarra.

The pressure from the Brazilians came again 5 minutes into the second half, when, after receiving a pass from Pepê from the right, winger João Pedro ran towards the center to find the best angle and, after avoiding two rivals, kicked powerfully and score the second.

And fifteen minutes later, when the team led by Spanish coach Ismael Rescalvo seemed to be in control of the game and looking for a discount, Everton Galdino got a ball in the middle of the field, advanced unmarked in the area and kicked an angle. to score a third for the Brazilians.

With victory almost guaranteed, Renato ‘Gaúcho’ decided to rest his key players and sent Kannemann, Soteldo, Galdino, Diego Costa and Cristaldo into the shower. The substitutes only had to manage the big advantage until the end of the game and the score increased in the final minutes with a goal by Gustavo Nunes.

DATA SHEET

4 – Guilds: Agustín Marchesín; João Pedro, Rodrigo Ely, Walter Kannemann (d.69, Felipe Carballo), Reinaldo; Dodi, Pepê, Franco Cristaldo (m.81, Du Queiroz); Everton Galdino (m.69, Gustavo Nunes), Yeferson Soteldo (m.69, Nathan Fernandes) and Diego Costa (m.80, Galvao)
0 – The Strongest: Guillermo Viscarra; Maximiliano Caire, Darío Aimar (m.90, Daniel Rojas), Adrián Jusino, Fabricio Quaglio; Álvaro Quiroga, Luciano Ursino, Michael Ortega (d.74, Bruno Miranda); Joel Amoroso (m.84, Marc Enoumba), Rodrigo Ramallo (m.74, Jayson Churra) and Enrique Triverio
The objectives: 1-0, Soteldo (m. 14); 2-0, João Pedro (m. 50); 3-0, Everton Galdino (m. 67); 4-0, Gustavo Nunes (m. 89)
Referee: Uruguayan Andrés Matonte yellow cards Kannemann, Aimar, Jusino and Quiroga
Incidents: match for the last day of the group stage of Group C of the Copa Libertadores played at the Couto Pereira stadium in the city of Curitiba as the Gremio stadium continues to be covered in mud due to floods in southern Brazil, which did not prevent the presence of 23,107 spectators .