October 31 – Once again, the Copa Libertadores final will be all-Brazilian after Botafogo survived a scare against Penarol to win 6-3 on aggregate in Montevideo and set up a showpiece match against Atletico Mineiro in the competition’s final in November.
Manager Artur Jorge left all of his yellow carded players Luiz Henrique, Igor Jesus, Gregore and Alexander Barboza on the bench but even so, Mateo Ponte was sent off for the visitors in the second half.
For 88 minutes, the possibility of Penarol clawing their way back into the tie remained real after Jaime Baez’s brace, but Thiago Almada’s goal ensured Botafogo’s passage to their first-ever Copa Libertadores final. In injury time, Washington Aguirre added a third for Penarol, but it was too little too late after the Uruguayans had lost the first leg 5-0.
For much of the return leg, the Rio club sat back and defended in the Uruguayan capital where the Centenario Stadium became a last-minute venue to stage the second leg after Conmebol shifted the game away from the Campeon Del Siglo to allow the visiting fans to attend the match. On Monday, local authorities had banned Botafogo fans because of security concerns.
Earlier this week, Atletico Mineiro eliminated Argentinian giants River Plate 3-0 on aggregate. It’s the second time the Belo Horizonte club reach the Copa Libertadores final after winning the competition in 2013.
It’s the fourth all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores final in five years. In another measure of the country’s dominance of the competition, ten of the twelve clubs to have disputed the final since 2019 have been Brazilian. River Plate was the last non-Brazilian club to win the competition in 2018.
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