It was a game to not take risks. Yeah Santa Fe I wanted it to be epic, I needed patience and concentration during the 90 minutes. He scored 45. In the second half, Corinthians He took out his fury and destroyed the resistance and bravery that the Cardinal team had shown and beat them 2-0 in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.
What happened in Santa Fe was a mirage, believing that you could when you couldn’t. They had such a solid first half that it invited enthusiasm, but after the break, everything collapsed.
Corinthians assumed control from the start of the match, playing from left to right and from right to left, to undermine the cardinal’s resistance and faith. You could tell Timao was eager to score. However, he had to wait a long time.
Corinthians vs. Santa Fe. Photo:AFP
Santa Fe opted for the fateful counterattack, that ancient and effective weapon. In fact, the first approach of the match was a frayed exit that ended with a header from Hugo Rodallega that lacked strength and direction, but that showed the Colombian team that it was not impossible to attack the Brazilian giant. At 12 minutes, all of Santa Fe, its souls and hearts, paralyzed when Andrés Marmolejo had to push himself and contained a dangerous low shot. The fear was that the first goal would score and then not knowing what to do.
The minutes passed and Santa Fe looked very poised, organized and focused. Before half an hour of play, Rodallega almost made the feat possible: he received a pass outside the area and his shot had everything that his previous header had lacked: such power and precision that anyone who didn’t know him would doubt his 40 years. The goalkeeper stopped the missile.
Corinthians vs. Santa Fe. Photo:AFP
Corinthians reacted immediately and again Marmolejo had to throw himself to the side to block a free kick taken by Garro and that it had a candle. The game was still 0-0 and the pressure began to be on the local side. The Santa Fe players asked the time only to see that 40 minutes had already passed and the score had not been broken.
And in general Santa Fe did not suffer. He didn’t even have to stay and live in his own field. Corinthians was so earthy that Hugo and his team at times fought the game well up front. The referee whistled and Santa Fe had survived the first half. And it didn’t look bad.
Corinthians vs. Santa Fe. Photo:AFP
What was Santa Fe going to be in the second half? Stay the same and defend zero, even if they knew that Corinthians was attackable? Or look for the heroic goal, even if they knew it was a fatal risk?
Corinthians vs. Santa Fe Photo:AFP
There were 45 minutes left, so much time to be visitors, and more in Brazil. “Don’t make a mistake, don’t make a mistake,” cried the cardinal fans, with their hands on their heads or raised to the sky, when Matheusinho He took a violent shot and only Marmolejo knows how he managed to avoid the goal. And a minute later, the Cardinal goalkeeper took another shot that went towards the net. The second half was not going to be as comfortable as the first. That was for sure. And so it was, the third in a row was the charm. Minute 50, corner kick, the cardinal defense, which was already water, which was already as if cowed by the local fury, allowed a header in the area, and then everyone looked like Raniele he noted with all the calm of the case. Marmolejo could no longer perform miracles. 1-0.
All of Santa Fe, players, Repetto, the fans, everyone was cold. The dilemma now was either to go for a draw or avoid a rout at all costs. Palacios was in that dilemma, as if confused, because when he had the option to shoot at the goal, he threw the ball into the sky.
The rest of the game, Santa Fe gathered courage, with that they concealed their shortcomings, and so they went in search of a tie. Corinthians let him come, let him play and waited for the moment to finish the game. Center from the side and almost with his knee he put it Henrique anticipating Helibelton Palacios.
Santa Fe lived for 45 minutes, then drowned in his nerves and his mistakes. Corinthians landed him, beat him and sent him bored to Bogotá.
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