Estudiantes tried and tried in La Plata but couldn’t get past their opponents’ back line - or rather their goalkeeper – and will have to overcome a 1-0 deficit in Porto Alegre next Wednesday. Alex scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot for an Internacional side who were reduced to ten men for over an hour when former Independiente and Boca Juniors man Pablo Guiñazú was sent off. This way for the goal…
After 43 matches without defeat at home in all competitions, Estudiantes started in the same vein as their performance against Tigre at the weekend, with Seba Verón running things in the midfield, but lacked something up front and only truly threatened from set pieces – Verón direct from a free kick and a little later Agustín Alayes from a header both tested, but failed to get the better of, visiting goalkeeper Lauro, who finished with the broadcasters’ man of the match award.
As Inter were beginning to come into the game, with Andrés D’Alessandro starting to exert some influence, they found themselves pegged back when Guiñazú stupidly went in hard on Verón near the halfway line and picked up a second booking after just twenty-five minutes. In the following minutes D’Alessandro, as if single-handedly determined to prevent the hosts from overrunning his side with their numerical advantage, got rapidly better and in the thirty-second minute played a ball into the box for Nilmar, who was brought down by Leandro Desábato.
Alex scored the penalty with ease and, from that point forth, there was never going to be much in the way of flooding forward from the visitors. All the same they had their moments, particularly since, playing on the counter-attack in the second half with D’Alessandro continuing to pull the midfield strings, they came up against a nervous-looking Estudiantes side. Marcos Angeleri nearly played his goalkeeper Mariano Andújar into trouble just moments into the second half, but a second Inter goal was prevented by the goalkeeper’s quick reactions.
As the half drew on José Luis Calderón and Gastón Fernández were both introduced for the hosts, but both lacked a finishing touch – Fernández blazed the last real chance from open play of the match wide from twenty-five yards in stoppage time – and Lauro continued his heroics when Estudiantes did manage a shot on target. In their own stadium, and back to eleven men for the second leg, Internacional will be hard for Leonardo Astrada’s side to break down. If they’re going to, they’ll need to improve on tonight’s showing.
Estudiantes de La Plata 0 – 1 Internacional do Porto Alegre (Copa Sudamericana final 2008, first leg):
Filed under: Argentine football, Continental football, Copa Sudamericana, Estudiantes, Football, Football clubs, Football managers, Goal videos, International football, Leonardo Astrada, Results | Tagged: Alex, Argentine football, Brazilian football, Copa Sudamericana, D'Alessandro, Estudiantes Internacional goals, Guiñazú, Lauro, South American football, Sudamericana goals, Verón
