Goalkeeper Jose Francisco Cevallos saved three penalties and Liga de Quito defeated Fluminense 3-1 in a shootout to become the first Ecuadorean club to win the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.
Liga clinched the title of Latin America’s most important club competition despite a 3-1 loss in regulation, which tied the aggregate score at 5-5. It had won the first leg 4-2 last week in Quito and could have lifted the trophy with a draw or even a one-goal loss at Maracana stadium. The teams drew 0-0 in extra time.
Cevallos stopped shots from Argentine midfielder Dario Conca, playmaker Thiago Neves and striker Washington.
PHOTO: EPA
“This was my last opportunity, I’m 27 years old, I knew this was my last opportunity,” Cevallos said. “We know we achieved something historic in international football.”
Patricio Urrutia, Franklin Salas and Joffre Guerron netted for Liga, while Cicero claimed Fluminense’s lone goal. Jairo Campos missed the only penalty for the Ecuadoreans.
“It’s hard to explain this loss,” Fluminense coach Renato Gaucho said. “We had our best players in the shootout, but unfortunately it was not a good night for them.”
With the victory, Liga also earns a spot in FIFA’s Club World Cup held later this year.
“This is an incredible victory for us,” Liga de Quito coach Edgardo Bauza said. “A historic title for Liga and Ecuador. It means a lot to us.”
Fluminense was boosted by nearly 80,000 fans in the first Copa Libertadores final at Maracana, but the 2,000 or so Liga fans celebrated first after an early goal that put the Brazilian club in an even deeper hole.
Striker Luis Bolanos opened the scoring just six minutes into the match with a right-footed shot from near the penalty spot.
Forward Guerron started the play on the right flank, dribbling past a defender and sending a low cross across the area to the unmarked Bolanos.
Fluminense quickly equalized when Neves cleared a defender before firing a left-footer from about 25m in the 11th minute. His well-placed shot found the lower-right corner to beat Cevallos.
And it was Neves again who put Fluminense ahead in the 28th, completing a left-flank cross from midfielder Cicero with a close-range shot that caught the Liga defense by surprise.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that