Colidio leads River Plate to the Copa Libertadores semis

River Plate seal their ticket to the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores after edging Colo-Colo 2-1 on aggregate. With the first-leg ending 1-1, Facundo Colidio's goal was enough to send 'Los Millonarios' back to a semifinal after a four-year drought. 

The clash saw the two sides share dominance at the start, with the Meza, Facundo, Borja combination working very well River. However, the stalemate was broken at the 16'. Marcos Acuna's free-kick was not cleared properly by the Colo-Colo defence, giving Simon the chance to throw the ball back into the box. Colidio made no mistake, sending the ball over the goalkeeper with a first-time touch while mid-air to give River the lead. 

Colo-Colo had no chance to get back into the game, as a strong defensive display from the opponents kept the threatening Palacios and Vidal at bay. Cristian Zavala and Guillermo Paiva were the closest to equalise for 'Los Albos', though their efforts were denied by goalkeeper Franco Armani. Ignacio Fernández and Manuel Lanzini had opportunities to double the lead for River, however, the scoreline remained unchanged at the final whislte. 

River Plate will now face one of Fluminense or Atletico Mineiro in the semifinals. The two Brazilian clubs play each other on Thursday, after a first-leg fixture that puts Fluminense up 1-0 on aggregate. 

 

September 25, 2024