With a goal without an angle from the 17-year-old forward Mark Leonardo, the Saints Brazilian tied this Tuesday 2-2 with the San Lorenzo Argentine and certified his ticket for the group stage of the Libertadores Cup, where it will be measured with Boca Juniors, Barcelona and The Strongest.
The São Paulo team, runner-up in the 2020 edition, started with an advantage after the 1-3 victory in Buenos Aires and sealed their classification in the Mané Garrincha from Brasilia thanks to the goals of the young Marcos Leonardo in the 22nd minute and the full-back Pará in the 57th.
San Lorenzo cut distances in 57 by means of Franco Di Santo and tied the game in 78 with a shot by Ángel Romero from outside the area.
Almagro's team stood up and could even take the victory if it were not for the interventions of goalkeeper Joao Paulo, but in the end it was impossible for him to lift a tie that was further complicated by the expulsion of full-back Gabriel Rojas at the start of the second half.
Argentine coach Ariel Holan surprised at first by giving continuity to Marcos Leonardo at the top of the attack, ultimately decisive. Kaio Jorge, freshly recovered from his physical discomfort, started from the bench.
The other two figures of the Santista offensive trident, Marinho and Soteldo, who returned to start after almost a month, did start from the beginning.
The Argentines marked the ground with tough play from the start. Santos were not daunted by the pace of Marinho and Soteldo, although they relaxed too much in the final stretch.
The passivity of the Albinegro team was taken advantage of by Almagro's squad to approach with danger in the first half.
Di Santo warned with a shot that went wide and almost in the sequence a failure in the exit of the ball by Kaiky almost did not take advantage of Óscar Romero.
Marinho responded with a corner kick that almost turned into an Olympic goal were it not for Devecchi's changed hand save.
And at the moment in which San Lorenzo was trying to advance lines, the marvel of Marcos Leonardo arrived, with a crossed shot, without an angle, from the baseline, which sneaked clean into the goal of the Argentine goal.
San Lorenzo reacted. Donatti had the tie in a header inside the area, while Juan Ramírez and Óscar Romero ran into an inspired Joao Paulo tonight.
Proof of impotence, Gabriel Rojas was sent off with a red card after a tackle from behind on Marinho, in the 51st minute.
Six minutes later, Santos struck again with Pará's goal, who masterfully defined a play with Soteldo.
San Lorenzo did not lower his arms and reduced differences at the exit of a corner with a header from Di Santo.
(+) See the summary and the goals of the match:
With the ticket for the group stage in his pocket, Holan took Marinho off the field, who did not like the substitution and left the field visibly angry.
The change did not sit well with Santos because San Lorenzo managed to tie with a low shot from outside the area by Ángel Romero. San Lorenzo kept pushing until the end, but it was too late.
2. Saints: João Paulo; Pará, Kaiky, Luan Peres, Felipe Jonatan; Alison, Madson (m.92, Luiz Felipe), Gabriel Pirani (m.67, Jean Mota); Marinho (m.67, Lucas Braga), Yeferson Soteldo (m.83, Jonathan Copete) and Marcos Leonardo (m.92, Kaio Jorge).
2. San Lorenzo: José Devecchi; Gino Peruzzi, Federico Gattoni, Alejandro Donatti, Gabriel Rojas; Diego Rodríguez (m.81, Jalil Elías), Juan Ramírez (m.79, Bruno Pittón), Óscar Romero; Ángel Romero, Nicolás Fernández (m.81, Lucas Melano) and Franco Di Santo (m.91, Franco Troyanski).
Goals: 1-0, m.22: Marcos Leonardo. 2-0, m.57: Stop. 2-1, m.59: Franco Di Santo. 2-2, m.78 Ángel Romero.
Referee: Uruguayan Esteban Ostojich expelled Gabriel Rojas and admonished Gino Peruzzi, Alison, Marcos Leonardo, Franco Di Santo, Joao Paulo, Luan Peres, Marinho and Diego Rodríguez.
Incidents: Second leg of Phase 3 of the Copa Libertadores played at the Mané Garrincha stadium, in Brasilia, without the presence of the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.