James misses the penalty and São Paulo is eliminated by LDU – 08/31/2023 – Sport

São Paulo is out of the Copa Sudamericana. This Thursday (31), the tricolor formation was eliminated in Morumbi by LDU, from Ecuador, with a defeat on penalties, by 5 to 4.

In penalties, the great villain of the São Paulo team ended up being the Colombian James Rodrígues, one of the main signings of the team in the last transfer window. He was the only one who wasted his charge.

In the first match, in Ecuador, São Paulo lost 2-1, but returned home with the feeling that it was possible to reverse the disadvantage. Lucas’ goal, when the game was 2-0, gave Morumbi’s team confidence.

In front of their fans, the São Paulo team needed 77 minutes, 45 in the first half and 32 in the final stage, to equalize the confrontation. The tie came when Aborleda scored with a header, after a corner, in a move in which the opposing goalkeeper was unable to clear a ball that went in his direction.

Even losing and with one player less —Alexander Alvarado was expelled just 3 minutes into the final stage—, LDU was not limited to just defending, it sought to attack and prevented the home team from scoring more than one goal. With the victory by the minimum score, the dispute ended defined in penalties.

Now, following the knockout competition, LDU’s opponent will be Defensa y Justicia, from Argentina, responsible for eliminating Botafogo in the quarterfinals.

In the other bracket, Fortaleza again beat América Mineiro this Thursday, this time, playing at the Castelão stadium, by 2-1, and will be Corinthians’ opponent in the semifinal. In the first leg, the Ceará won by 3 to 1.

The team from São Paulo advanced to the penultimate stage of the competition after eliminating Estudiantes (ARG), on penalties. In the first confrontation, in Itaquera, the hosts won by 1 to 0 and, in Argentina, ended up defeated in normal time by the same score.