Ten-man Universidad de Chile did a Maracanazo when they upset Flamengo 3-2 in Rio de Janeiro in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.
There was another away win for Sao Paulo, who upset last year’s runners-up Cruzeiro in the first leg of their all-Brazilian tie at the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte.
The term Maracanazo was first coined when Uruguay upset Brazil at the giant Maracana Stadium in Rio to win the 1950 World Cup.
Universidad de Chile went ahead in the fifth minute, having squandered a very good chance a minute earlier. The Flamengo defenders were unable to control a cross from Eduardo Vargas from the right on the rain-drenched pitch and Uruguay defender Mauricio Victorino rifled the ball into the net.
The Chileans went further ahead in the 25th minute when midfielder Rafael Olarra met a long, high ball out of defense in the box, rising higher than goalkeeper Bruno to head the ball in.
Striker Adriano, overlooked by Brazil coach Dunga when he named his 23-man World Cup squad on Tuesday, headed Flamengo back into contention six minutes before the interval.
The U were left a man short just before halftime when Chile midfielder Manuel Iturra was sent off for a foul on Willians, his second booking.
However, hardly had the second half begun when The U made it three. Bruno was slow to react to a cross from the left and Uruguay midfielder Alvaro Fernandez beat him at the far post in the 47th minute.
Defender Juan pulled another goal back for the home side one minute from time, but Universidad hung on for victory.
The winners of the tie will meet Guadalajara or Paraguay’s Libertad. The Mexicans won their home leg 3-0 at the Jalisco in the early hours of Wednesday.
At the Mineirao, striker Dagoberto put three-time winners Sao Paulo ahead in the 24th minute and Brazil midfielder Hernanes added the second in the 65th minute from Fernandao’s exquisite backheeled pass.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
RSS