By Gustavo Castilho
The Carioca and the Paulista teams join Athletico-PR and Santos, and now they are waiting for the draw of the round of 16. Today is the day for the already classified Grêmio and the highly-rated International to play ball.
Thursday night will be the last step of the group stage of the Copa Libertadores 2020. For group E, Grêmio is the leader with 10 points and is already classified. The team hosts América de Cali (COL), at the Arena. A simple victory secures the gaucho tricolor in the first place. In the event of a tie or defeat, the top end of the table may be overtaken by their biggest rival. That’s because Internacional faces Universidad Católica (CHI), in Chile. With eight points and occupying second place in the group, Colorado depends only on its results to advance. A tie is enough for the classification. Although the path is smooth, América de Cali, still seeks to crash the party of the team from Rio Grande do Sul, although the chances are small. The Colombian team needs to beat Grêmio and hope for Inter’s stumble against the already eliminated Universidad Católica. America is third with five points, while Católica is last with four. Both still fight for a place in the South American Cup, since the chances of the Colombian team to advance in the Libertadores is very remote.
Another group that steps in the field today is H. With Boca Junior (ARG) already classified and with guaranteed leadership, Caracas (VEN) and Libertad (PAR) remain in second place, since both teams have seven points. Boca Junior and Caracas face off in Argentina while Libertad and the already eliminated Independiente de Medellín (COL) face off in Paraguay.
For group A, Flamengo entered the field with a very alternative team, thinking about the match for the Brazilian Championship on Sunday, and beat Junior Barranquillaby 3×1 in Maracanã. The team secured the group leadership. The other classified was Independiente Del Valle (EQU), who beat Barcelona de Guayaquil (EQU) 2-0 at home. The group ended with Flamengo leading with 15 points, Independiente Del Valle with 12 points, Junior Barranquilla with six, and Barcelona de Guayaquil three points. Barranquilla got a spot for the South American.
Playing at home, Palmeiras had no difficulties and thrashed Tigres (ARG). The 5×0 score not only secured the team’s leadership, but also placed alviverde as the best team in the Libertadores group stage with 16 points, the same score as Santos, but with a much higher goal balance (15 against 5). In addition to Palmeiras, the other classified was Guaraní (PAR) who defeated Bolívar (BOL) by 2×3, in Bolivia. The group ended as follows: Palmeiras leader with 16 points, Guaraní with 13 points, Bolívar with four points and Tigres just one. With the third-place confirmed, Bolívar will play in the South American Cup.
Another group that also ended was F, with Nacional (URU) and Racing (ARG) qualifying. The teams finished with the same score (15 points), but with the Uruguayans in front due to the goal balance. Estudiantes de Mérida (VEN) and Alianza Lima (PER) said goodbye to the competition. The Venezuelan club goes to the Copa Sudamericana.
