The fans in the stands were applauding and cheering, and the players in the stadium also gathered together to celebrate.
Everyone knows that after the total score becomes 2-0, the probability of the Hurricanes eliminating Sao Paulo and advancing to the next round is getting higher and higher.
Of course, we can't be as arrogant and careless as we were in the last game. After all, even Olympio can cause trouble for Atletico Hurricanes, let alone a Brazilian giant like Sao Paulo?
They have so many good players on the team, and once they break out, who knows what will happen?
Moreover, luck is also a key factor that cannot be measured on the court.
Don't be careless.
Willard and his teammates defended carefully, fearing that the hard-won victory would be accidentally broken.
Especially Willard, who bought a lot of gambling with his girlfriend and father-in-law, he must not be eliminated.
In the end, Willard's caution really paid off.
In the 31st minute, after Sao Paulo threw away Velarde through passing arrangements, he launched an attack from the right, forming a threatening offensive. Finally, winger Centurion made a pass from the right, and center Pato headed the ball. The goal hit the crossbar and bounced into the penalty area. Nervo tried to kick the ball out of the penalty area to clear the ball, but he missed it and the ball only flew to the line of the penalty area.
To make matters worse, there was no one at the landing point, and it happened to be grabbed by Sao Paulo midfielder De Sousa. I saw him volleying the ball directly into the air without stopping the ball, and kicked the ball to the right side of the goal.
The ball was of very good quality and successfully hit the goal frame at a very tricky angle.
Goalkeeper Marcos Diaz was blocked by a figure in the penalty area. He reacted a step late and was about to miss the ball. When the ball was about to fly into the goal against the goalpost, a figure came diagonally from the small penalty area. Li rushed over, made a diving dive, and successfully pushed the ball just before it flew into the goal, and pushed the ball out of the baseline.
This person was none other than Velarde, who was avoided by Sao Paulo through a pass in the midfield. After discovering that Sao Paulo deliberately avoided him and attacked from the side, Velard immediately returned to the penalty area, preparing to compete for a header or the like and participate in the defense.
Unexpectedly, he just caught up with De Souza's volley and completed a thrilling rescue.
Although after completing the clearance, Villard hit his shoulder on the goalpost and fell to the ground, but with a physique and injury resistance of 90%, Villard just got up and rubbed it for a while, and there was no big problem.
Marcos Dias came over with lingering fear, hugged Velarde, and patted him to express his gratitude. If Villard hadn't made a timely comeback and made a diving clearance, the ball would have been 100% scored, and the situation of the game between the two sides would have been very different.
The commentators also praised Willard's timely defense:
"It's so thrilling!"
"Villade cleared the ball with a header that was almost on the goal line and pushed the ball over the baseline."
"Had Velard not returned to the penalty area in time to participate in defense, the goal would have been scored."
"His awareness, speed, and reflexes are really amazing."
"Saint Paulo missed an opportunity to get a goal back."
“If this goal is pulled back, Sao Paulo will not only pull the total score to only one goal behind, but also erase the away goal advantage of Atletico Hurricanes.”
"In the remaining time, Sao Paulo only needs to score one more goal to eliminate the Hurricanes Athletic Club with the advantage of more away goals if the total score is the same."
"The pressure this puts on both sides will be very different."
"Fortunately, Willard used a dangerous header to clear the ball and successfully helped the Hurricanes defend the goal."
"Although he hit the goalpost himself, it didn't seem to be a big deal. Velarde's physique and injury resistance have always been relatively good."
Velarde's thrilling save received warm applause from tens of thousands of Hurricanes fans at home.
The game continues.
It stands to reason that with Sao Paulo's background, level, and player configuration, few teams can keep them clean in both rounds.
However, the Hurricanes' defense was too tight, and Sao Paulo itself was unlucky.
Before the end of the first half, in the 42nd minute, Sao Paulo had an excellent chance to shoot in front of the goal through a counterattack from a ground ball from the wing. Pato rushed to the goal and shot less than 5 meters away from the goal. It was really like that The type where you can score a goal just by touching the ball a little, changing its direction, and as long as it doesn't hit the goalkeeper directly.
However, when the ball rolled over, it did not roll completely on the ground, but had a slight bounce. Pato failed to hit the right spot when he shot, and ended up with a kick.
The ball flew over the crossbar.
Being able to kick the ball from such a close distance, Pato himself was stunned. He stood in front of the goal and stared blankly at the ball flying over the crossbar, with a confused look on his face.
"Pato is a bit unlucky today!"
"The ball that Velard headed to clear the ball before was bounced off the crossbar by Pato, then volleyed back by De Souza, and was cleared by Velarde."
"Come again now."
"Pato kicked a good ball in front of the goal from Wesley's ground ball and it flew over the crossbar."
"Luck is not on St. Paul's side."
"It's really difficult for you to defeat the Hurricanes Athletic Team!"
Sao Paulo is unlucky, but Hurricanes Athletics is lucky.
Just as the first half entered injury time, and everyone thought the first half was going to end with a score of 1-0, the Hurricanes got a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt.
The ball was rather wide and far away, so it was unlikely to be a direct shot, so everyone entered the Sao Paulo penalty area to participate in the aerial challenge.
No one expected that after Toranso's free kick landed in the penalty area, Sao Paulo center back Lu Kang, who grabbed the first point to compete for the top, not only failed to clear the ball, but was pushed by Avila. The ball made a weird parabola and just avoided goalkeeper Cheney's defense area. As Cheney watched in shock and disbelief, it flew into the goal against the right post.
Not only did Sao Paulo fail to regain even a single point, but center back Lu Kang scored an own goal, rewriting Hurricanes' leading total score to 3-0.
The game has basically lost its suspense.
Although there are still 45 minutes left in the second half, few people believe that Sao Paulo can score three goals in a row and then use the advantage of more away goals to eliminate the Hurricanes Athletic Team.
In fact, this is also the case. After a 15-minute break, in the second half of the game, Sao Paulo tried its best, even used up all the substitutions, attacked aggressively, and tried to fight back, but they were never able to break through the goal of Atletico Hurricanes.
In fact, Sao Paulo did not create as many threatening shots in the second half as in the first half. Because after locking in the victory, the Hurricane Athletic Team also continuously replaced the new defense line and strengthened the defense.
Until the end of the game, Sao Paulo failed to score even a face-saving goal.
Atletico Hurricanes defeated the Brazilian giant Sao Paulo with a total score of 1-0 in the first leg away, 2-0 in the second leg at home, and 3-0 in both legs, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores.
