After scratching a tie in the final minutes of the first leg, the ‘Mighty’ Medellín will receive El Nacional from Ecuador today to define this key to the second phase of the Copa Libertadores de América.
The duel against “Los puros criollos” -who hire only Ecuadorian players- is scheduled for 7:00 pm at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium, in Medellín.
In the first leg, the reigning runners-up from Colombia reached a 2-2 tie thanks to a penalty saved by goalkeeper Andrés Mosquera and a bumpy goal by Daniel Londoño as the game was drawing to a close.
“In a 180-minute key, it is a result that seems good. It gives us the chance to finish the series in Medellín.” said the coach, David González, urgent for results.
After six dates, the DIM is in box 17 of the local contest, although it obtained its first victory over the weekend and hopes to prolong the good streak.
On their side, El Nacional exhibits gunpowder in attack: they returned to the Ecuadorian first division on Sunday with a 2-0 victory against Aucas and swept Bolivian Nacional Potosí 9-2 on aggregate in the first phase of the Libertadores.
The winner of the key will play the pass to the group stage of the Libertadores against the winner of the series between the Bolivian Always Ready and the Chilean Magallanes.
Advancing in the Cup could reconcile González with the crowd upset by DIM’s weak start in the local league.
“We represent a great fan base. When there is a situation like this, that media pressure is normal. We have to be big to put our chests on it and respond, ”said the 40-year-old coach, who made his debut on the bench in the middle of last year and faces his first Libertadores.
The main unknown will be whether they decide on the three-player defense they used in the first leg or if they replicate the 4-4-2 scheme with which they beat Alianza Petrolera (1-0) at home on the weekend.
In any case, the ideas will go through the left-handed booty of Andrés Ricaurte, in charge of pulling the strings of DIM in midfield.
Coach Éver Almeida rested Oña and other starters over the weekend.
“We are with all the faith (…) we hope that with the recovery now we will do well there in Colombia” anticipated the physical trainer of El Nacional, Leandro Simbaña.
On the other hand, the Hulk gunner will command the Atlético Mineiro offensive in Belo Horizonte today, a relief for an attack that had problems breaking the defense of Venezuela’s Carabobo.
The 36-year-old “Galo” scorer was not in the 0-0 draw in Caracas due to a positive for covid-19, but he is already recovered to contribute his strength and goals in the Albinegro goal of approaching the group stage .
And, after the draw in the first leg last week, Huracán will receive the Uruguayan rookie Boston River in Buenos Aires in search of ensuring their presence in the third round of the Copa Libertadores, the last leg to reach the group stage.
The 0-0 draw in Montevideo left an open panorama, so for the second leg the Argentine team hopes to assert the locality to continue in the regional competition./ENS-AFP