Sao Paulo, Feb 13 (IANS) Striker Ricardo Oliveira scored a brace against Uruguay’s Danubio in a 3-2 victory for Atlético Mineiro to qualify for the third phase of the 2019 Copa Libertadores.
Shielded by wingers Luan and Colombian Chara, the former Betis, Zaragoza and Milan player Oliveira on Tuesday scored in the 26th minute and again two minutes later, reports Efe news.
Earlier, in the 15th minute, Luan had also scored after the goalkeeper’s failure.
Nothing seemed to threaten a place in the third round, but Danubio, who twice cancelled Mineiro’s advantage in the first leg, did not lower their weapons and moved to cut distances. In the 45th minute it scored thanks to Carlos Grossmuller, and again in the 58th with a shot by Pablo Siles.
From the start, the Brazilians went on the attack. Luan, Chara and Ecuadorian Juan Cazares combined for the first goal of the ‘Galo’, with the collaboration of Federico Cristoforo, who was the hero in Montevideo.
Before they could blink, the second came. Oliveira left behind three rivals, entered the area and was tackled by Cristoforo. It was a clear penalty that the striker scored.
He scored the second in the next play.
With a 3-0 win and a knockout likely, Mineiro relaxed excessively and Danubio grew through Montes and Onetto, who got a penalty for his side after the foul of Patric.
Siles shook fear into Independencia fans with a shot from the three-quarter line that put the Uruguayans’ qualification just one goal away.
The game then went into a back-and-forth dynamic with a hard midfield innings. Cazares crashed a ball into the post, while Montes was leading the Uruguayans, but the goal never came.
–IANS
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