By Gustavo Castilho
Brazilians kick off the second phase of the Copa Sudamericana.
In Argentina, São Paulo faced Lanús and was beaten. The defeat by 3×2 came after a flinch from the São Paulo defense. Sand scored twice for the hosts. Brenner returned by swinging the nets twice, but at 45 minutes of the second half, Quignón got the Lanús definitively ahead of the scoreboard. The Argentine team has not played an official match since March. Like Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana uses the qualified goal criterion in the regulation, that is, the goal scored away from home has more weight than that scored at home. Therefore, despite being defeated, the two goals scored in Argentina can be fundamental for the tricolor to advance from the stage. A victory by 1 to 0 or 2 to 1, for example, classifies São Paulo, as the team scored two goals at the opponent’s home. A positive result by two or more goals difference also gives the spot to the tricolor. The match will only go to penalties if the 3×2 score is repeated again, but this time in favor of São Paulo. The next game will be at Morumbi, in São Paulo, next Wednesday, 11/04. Lanús plays for a draw.
Vasco received Caracas (VEN) in São Januário. Tiago Reis guaranteed the victory by 1 to 0 to the cruzmaltino team. The player entered in the 39th minute of the second stage and at the 42nd opened the scoreboard. Vasco still lost a penalty and had striker Igor Catatau sent off in the final minutes of the match. The teams will face off two weeks from now (11/04), in Venezuela. The team from Rio travels with a good advantage in the bag, since besides winning, the team has not yet taken a goal, that is, if they score one, Caracas will necessarily need to step up the difference for two or more goals.
