At 22:00 on the evening of August 5, with the referee's whistle, the second leg of the 2015 Copa Libertadores final between Atletico Hurricanes and Tigres officially began at the Hurricanes' home court, Tomas Duke Stadium.
With a 1-0 lead in the away game in the first round and an advantage in both total score and away goals, the Hurricanes only needed to keep a draw and win the game.
Therefore, Mario Binco chose Federico Bismara, who has stronger defensive ability and more experience, to partner Velarde in the double midfielder.
After Velarde's offensive ability was released, the importance of central midfielder Lucas Villaruel in forward attack has been greatly reduced. Instead, the full-time defensive midfielder Bismara has regained more of playing time, because behind Velarde who frequently attacks forward, a full-time defensive midfielder like Bismara is needed to fill in for Velarde.
The other positions are basically unchanged from the first round. The Hurricanes are fighting with all their main players and must ensure that they win this final battle and win the championship.
Although Tigres from Mexico was affected by the long flight and weather, they fell behind with a total score and had to attack.
Therefore, after a few minutes of testing in the first few minutes, Tigres began to exert force and attack aggressively.
Only 3 minutes into the game, Tigres forward Gignac completed his first shot, but it was a shot that he barely completed under the pressure of Alan Willard outside the penalty area. It went too far and directly hit the target. Flying out of the bottom line.
It could be said that he was running towards the corner kick area to shoot, but it was just an aimless shot.
Next, Tigres tried his best to score a goal. However, like the Hurricanes in the first round, they suffered from poor form. Coupled with the defense led by Willard, playing at home and in good form, Tigres not only failed to score, but also had very few chances to shoot.
Even the Hurricanes' counterattack was much sharper than in the first round.
With the cheers of tens of thousands of Hurricanes home fans in the stands, as long as they get the ball, the Hurricanes' counterattack can basically pose a huge threat.
In the 8th minute, right midfielder Turaza's pass was almost hit by Avila. Unfortunately, due to the influence of the opponent's defender, he failed to jump to the intended height. The ball flew past his hair and failed to form a header.
But this does not affect the next counterattack of the Hurricanes Athletic Team.
In the 23rd minute, when Velarde suddenly made a move and scared Tigres midfielder Sobis to pass the ball quickly, he made a passing error. The ball failed to reach his teammates and was passed by full-back Manci. Nellie cut off.
Seeing the captain seize the ball, Velarde immediately bypassed Sobis and rushed towards the opponent's half. Mancinelli also immediately passed the ball to Turaza in the midfield wing gap. Hurricanes Athletic Team Counterattack again.
After Tulasa received the ball, he took two steps and encountered an opponent's interception. Instead of trying to break through, he quickly passed the ball to Toranso in the middle, and then bypassed the opponent's player and moved forward along the side.
The forward attack of Toranso, Velarde, Alejandro Romero, Turaza, and Avila disrupted Tigres' defense, and finally Velarde made a breakthrough in the penalty area. After receiving a cross from Romero, he blasted the ball towards the goal.
The ball was powerful and heavy, and it came from an excellent angle. Goalkeeper Guzman was helpless. Unfortunately, the ball finally hit the post and bounced into the right rib of the penalty area.
Just when the Tigres players and fans wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, Tulaza unexpectedly appeared on the ball path in time and stopped the ball with his chest.
The two Tigres players in the penalty area immediately went to grab the ball, but Tulasa didn't wait for the ball to hit the ground and made another pass, picking the ball back to the center.
Originally, this time it was a counterattack, but Tigres' defense had been disrupted by Romero and Toranso's passes, Velarde's shot, and Tulassa's chest stop. Instead, it was in the middle of the penalty area and on the line of the small penalty area. Forward Avila was left unguarded.
Turaza's pass just landed on Avila's head. Avila just headed the ball slightly and headed the ball into the left goal.
Goalkeeper Guzman had fallen to the ground just now because he was blocking Velarde's shot. When he got up, he saw Turassa stopping the ball on his chest. He thought Turassa would hit the goal immediately, so he did not immediately retreat to the center. When I saw Turaza's pass and Avila's header, and tried to pounce back to the left, it was already too late. In the end, I couldn't even make a save, so I just watched Avila's header. The goal flew into the goal.
"The ball is in!"
"Avila!"
"Avila received Turaza's pass and headed the ball into the left goal from the small penalty area line."
"Villad's long-range shot just now almost went in, but unfortunately it bounced off the post, but Turaza grabbed the second spot, and then passed it to Avila to score with a header."
"Villade contributed his strength in the offense again. Although this goal will not be counted as his goal or assist, the credit will not be less."
"Hurricane Athletics leads 2-0 on aggregate."
"Even if Tigres pulls back a goal, he will still be eliminated."
"Tigres needs a stronger offense to retain the hope of turning the tables and winning the championship."
"The next competition may be more intense."
Indeed, after the game restarted, Tigres began to strengthen his physical collision style when he was in poor condition and had difficulty breaking through the Hurricanes' defense due to his poor technical and tactical skills.
We're going to lose anyway, so we don't care about fouls or cards.
In the 27th minute, Tigres winger Damian Alvarez stepped on Turaça's instep while fighting for the ball, causing Turaça to fall to the ground holding his instep and crying in pain.
Damian was shown a yellow card by the referee and a free kick was awarded to Hurricanes Athletics.
But this did not make the people of Tigres restrain themselves.
Although Velarde has a good reputation and no one dares to directly trouble him, his teammates are often violated by Tigres.
Just when Villard was about to show off his beastly style and retaliate against the opponent, in the 34th minute, captain Mancinelli stood up and attacked Damian Alvarez, who had violated his teammates twice. With a flying shovel, Damian was shoveled directly from the sideline with the ball. He fell to the ground and cried out in pain while covering his calf that was hit by Mancinelli.
Mancinelli also received a yellow card, but Damian did not feel well and was even forced to leave the field for treatment. With the help of the team doctor, he limped back to the court after two or three minutes.
Damian Alvarez fell silent, but there were others. Because they were about to lose the game and lose the championship, they all lost their minds, a bit deliberately trying to cause trouble for the Hurricanes and stimulate their sanity.
But the Hurricanes did not back down, nor were they reckless. Except for Mancinelli's flying tackle on Damian Alvarez, which received a yellow card, Tigres' players were basically fouling in the rest of the time. Not only did the Hurricanes not take the card, but they either gained the upper hand in the collision or deliberately fell to the ground to allow the opponent to be punished by the referee.
At the end of the first half, four Tigres players had received yellow cards, and it was difficult to continue to use collision tactics unscrupulously. If you get another card, someone will be sent off with a red card.
