Paraguay’s Cerro Portino beat Ecuador’s lovely Barcelona 2-1 this Wednesday in their Group C opener of the Copa Libertadores 2023 in Asuncion.
Guarani Barça scored in the 28th and 73rd minutes of the game through Claudio Aquino (via penalty) and Diego Surin.
At 71, Argentina forward Cristian Ortiz of the Yellow Box somewhat equalized.
The match was controlled by the locals until Ortiz’s goal rewarded the visitors’ perseverance. He capitalized on the rebound to shoot past Brazilian goalkeeper Jean Fernandez.
The Ecuadorians have already warned of their intentions at the age of 59. Ortiz’s powerful and driven shot spread to the Hurricanes and their legions of fans.
Barcelona had a different air with the changes ordered by their coach Fabian Bustos, the first of which was Christian Ortiz for captain Damian Diaz and Comer Caruso for Francisco Fidriszewski (64).
The competition went to an open process and the shipbuilding idol players attacked bravely. Coroso could have equalized on 66 minutes, but Cero’s Brazilian goalkeeper prevented him from doing so one-on-one.
The visit had already provided enough warning until Ortiz made his mark. He took advantage of poor defensive coverage. His strong shot was unstoppable to Jean.
The Hurricanes dominated the first half and their players went into halftime with a partial victory thanks to Aquino’s penalty.
Defender Pedro Velasco received the maximum penalty for a violent foul on Argentina striker Surin.
Zurín’s goal at 73 was a masterpiece by Argentina midfielder Federico Carrizo, who swept past two defenses before crossing in Zurín’s direction.
Cerro again scored in time to ease the tension after serious incursions into yellow territory.
Ty’s happiness lasted only 2 minutes into the visit. Cero recovered in time to move back to the front, but passed Caines to hold on for the victory. Due to fate it did not end in a tie.
The people of Ecuador were undaunted and rose up like rebels against the landlords in the last area in search of equality, however, that did not happen.
Cerro scored a second win in time to ease the tension caused by the intense tests of the players in yellow.
The Canaries were poor in attack until the equalizer in 71.
The victory washed the face of the Paraguayan team just days after a humiliating 5-1 loss to Libertad for the local championship on Saturday. (D)
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