Atlético Mineiro advanced to the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday by eliminating Boca Juniors 3-1 in the penalty shootout after drawing 0-0 in the second leg at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte.
El Mineiro, one of the best clubs in the group stage and which had achieved a 0-0 draw last week during its visit to Boca in the Bombonera, advanced thanks to penalties scored by Nacho Fernández, Júnior Alonso and Éverson, while Hyoran and Hulk wasted their collections. Only Rojo scored for Boca Juniors, as Villa, Rolón and Izquierdoz failed.
After advancing on penalties this Tuesday after a disputed match in which the VAR, as had happened in the first leg, annulled a goal to the Argentine team, Mineiro will face the winner of the duel between the Argentines River in the quarterfinals Plate and Argentinos Juniors.
Mineiro started pressing from the opening whistle in an attempt to open the scoring prematurely and in the first minute full-back Dodó had the first opportunity to receive a ball outside the area but Agustín Rossi contained his shot without force.
Two minutes after the Argentine midfielder Matías Zaracho launched a counterattack and overcame two Boca defenders, but failed in the face-to-face with Rossi, in what was the most dangerous play of the locals in the first half.
The Belo Horizonte team dominated the first half but without generating danger, while the Buenos Aires insisted on counterattacks, which was more dangerous, with completions by Cristian Pavón, Sebastián Villa and Norberto Briasco that made goalkeeper Éverson an important protagonist .
For the locals, Venezuelan Jefferson Savarino narrowly opened the scoring in the 32nd minute after receiving a shot from afar and invading the area, but his crossing passed far from Rossi's goal and the play ended up invalidated out of place.
The Argentine Nacho Fernández became the main protagonist of the Mineiro in the last minutes of the first half, both in the creation and in the finishes, but he also failed in his aim.
The second half started very truncated, with repeated fouls from both sides, complaints, pressure on the referee, a tense climate and little football. The atmosphere became even more complicated in the 63rd minute when Weigandt took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Éverson after collecting a free kick and opened the scoring.
But the annotation was annulled because of González's misplaced after the referee consulted the VAR, which generated the anger of Boca's starters and substitutes, who tried to pressure the referee when he consulted the booth, and a reaction from the Brazilians, who they tried to drive away the Argentines.
The atmosphere of confusion originated in the first leg, in which the VAR also annulled a goal that would have given the victory to xeneize, in a controversial decision that forced Conmebol to sanction the referee team.
The confusion in the second leg cost him the expulsion of a member of the technical commission from each side. After several minutes of interruption, the game continued with both clubs taking turns attacking, mainly with long throws and counterattacks, but without dangerous plays.
Boca coach Miguel Ángel Russo, in a bid to manage the goalless draw and force penalties, sacrificed Riasco for the entry of Orsini. For his part, Mineiro's coach, Cuca, introduced several changes to give his team more offensive power, starting with the entry of attacker Sasha, which allowed the locals to maintain pressure but without creating danger.
In the last minutes the strategists, thinking more about the penalty penalty, made several changes that did not alter a game that had a nine-minute replacement.