Comments on: River flow on

By: hastaelgolsiempre

hastaelgolsiempre — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:45:38 +0000

Yes, Justin, all final matches in which group qualifiers haven’t already been decided are being played simultaneously.

By: justin

justin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:12:50 +0000

Colo Colo winning by 1 is, for me, the most likely outcome of that match. These two games are being played at the same time, I assume?

By: hastaelgolsiempre

hastaelgolsiempre — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:15:21 +0000

Thanks for pointing that last bit out, Seba, the league table will be updated accordingly after this weekend’s round of matches.

By: Seba

Seba — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:13:44 +0000

You have that right. A combined 2-0 by Colo Colo and 3-0 by Boca (or viceversa) will be enough to see Boca through.

If there’s a draw in Chile, then Boca will need to win by 2 goals of difference to end up with 10 points (same as Colo Colo would have) and beat them on goal scored. Provided the result in Chile is not a very unlikely 5-5 draw, for example. In that case, a win by 3 sees Boca through.

In other news, AFA made official their decision to give Estudiantes the 3 points of their match against Racing. The funny thing is they will declare the result a 2-0 win (when the match was abandoned, they were winning 2-1).

They won’t deduct any points to Racing but they do take away that Fileppi goal.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:02:07 +0000

So, a strange situation for Boca fans. The best thing is to win by 5 of course, but not an easy task. So, we are torn between rooting for Atlas to win (are they going all out ?), or hoping Colo Colo beats the hell out of Atlas and Boca scores enough to cover the goal difference. Do I have that right ?

By: hastaelgolsiempre

hastaelgolsiempre — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:26:01 +0000

River don’t yet know their last 16 opponents, James, but rest assured the full draw for the knockout stage will be posted here when it’s known.

Boca will qualify with any win, if Atlas beat Colo Colo – but that match is in Santiago so it’s not a given. If it finishes as a draw, Boca will need to beat Colo Colo’s goal difference, which is two better than theirs. Given that they’re at home to Maracaibo, neither of these should be beyond them, but the complication arises if Colo Colo beat Atlas narrowly, because Boca will then have to beat Atlas’s goal difference. At present the Mexicans have 5 more than Boca, so if Colo Colo win by one, Boca have to win by five. If the Chileans win by two, Boca need four, and so on.

A five goal win for Boca, in other words, would ensure qualification regardless of the other result, but anything less and they’ll be requiring a helping hand.

By: James

James — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:56:46 +0000

Do River play San Lorenzo in the next round? For the first time since 2005 River actually have a chance of winning the Libertadores. Also do Boca have to win by 5 to qualify for the 2nd round?

By: justin

justin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:55:41 +0000

Last season’s disaster well and truly behind River now.

Nice touch, Abreu celebrating his 2nd behind the goal with Ortega and the other reserves.

I’m starting to believe in this team. Not a lot of teams in the knockout rounds that I fear, now that el Cholo has River playing with confidence away from the Monumental. There are still defensive weaknesses, but Carrizo is the best goalkeeper in the Americas, and he can make up for a lot.