Half of the group stage matches of the Copa Libertadores have already been played and although there is still a lot to play for, up to this point the balance that the Brazilian teams can make is varied. Atlético Mineiro and Palmeiras are among the high points, while, on the contrary, the performance of Grêmio and Botafogo is quite disappointing.
Fluminense, the last champion of this tournament, maintains the lead in Group A despite its irregularity. A win and two draws, one on this last day in their visit to Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) are enough to project themselves at the top knowing that two of the next three games are at the Maracaná.
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For its part, São Paulo remains second in Group B, one point behind Talleres (Argentina). His progress went from less to more: he debuted by losing in Córdoba and then won two victories, the last in Guayaquil against Barcelona, at the beginning of Luis Zubeldía’s time as coach.
Grêmio found a reason to smile in their away win against Estudiantes last Tuesday after two losses in a row. The Porto Alegre team remains last in Group C, although the key is close and is only two points away from the leader Huachipato (Chile).
A similar panorama faces Botafogo. They lost their first two games and finally achieved three points on this day by hosting Universitario (Peru). With Artur Jorge as the new coach, he will have three games to get out of last place in the tight Group D.
📊 ¡Las posiciones en los 8 grupos de la CONMEBOL #Libertadores tras la tercera fecha!
🤔 ¿Quiénes pasarán a los Octavos de Final?#GloriaEterna pic.twitter.com/fo68ufkFTy
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) April 26, 2024
Flamengo, meanwhile, knew that if there was a complicated match in this phase it would be against Bolívar at altitude. The Rio team was indeed defeated, although the effectiveness of the Bolivian rival was not expected, which maintains a perfect score in group E and has already made a five-unit difference.
Another of the candidates in the contest, Palmeiras, is on a better path. They are at the top of Group F after a draw and two victories, one of them the one they obtained on Wednesday in the difficult stop in Ecuador against Independiente del Valle.
The most effective Brazilian club so far is Atlético Mineiro, with three wins in the three games played. The team found a great version under the command of Gabriel Milito in what seemed like it was going to be a complicated Group G that it shares with Peñarol (Uruguay), Rosario Central (Argentina) and Caracas FC (Venezuela).
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
The first three episodes are available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for the upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
