Rodrigo López golazo contra Guaraní, Copa Libertadores 2011

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On March 17 Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata hosted Guaraní of Paraguay in a Group 7 game in the 2011 Copa Libertadores. The home team were expected to win given the fact that Guaraní were bottom of the group having lost allof their first three games. The game ended 5-1 to Estudiantes and the pick of the goals was this intelligent flick header by Uruguayan forward Rodrigo López to direct a huge longball from Juan Sebastián Verón into the net. López finished the game with a hat-trick of headers.

Part of the Golazo series.

Olimpia 4-3 Guaraní - Partidazo

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On 6 March 2011 Paragauyan league leaders Olimpia hosted Guaraní in the seventh round of games.

Miguel Paniagua opened the scoring for the visitors with a cracking long range strike. Edgar Robles equalised with another brilliant goal then Pablo Zeballos put the hosts ahead with a header.

After half time Guaraní equalised again when Argentine defender Eduardo Filippini headed in a free kick that was chipped into the box from nearer the centre of the pitch than the goalmouth.

Olimpia's Argentine forward Juan Carlos Fereyra re-established the lead and second half substitute tiny Maxi Biancucchi made it 4-2 after a wonderfully unselfish pass from his gigantic looking strike partner Ferreyra.

Guaraní grabbed a goal back in the 87th minute to enliven the last few minutes but Olimpia held on for their seventh consecutive win to maintain their seven point advantage at the top of the table. Nery Pumpido is back in charge of the side he led to Copa Libertadores triumph in their centenary year back in 2002 and has set about qualifying for next year's event in impressive style.

Guaraní were left in the bottom half of the table, a misleading position given the quality of their performance in this game and the fact that they hald three games in hand due to postponments in order to accomodate their 2011 Copa Libertadores commitments.

Part of the game of the week series.

For more great games involving South American teams, check out the rest of the Partidazo series.

Golazo: Thiago Ribeiro vs Guaraní, 2011 Copa Libertadores

Cruzeiro got off to a brilliant start to their 2011 Copa Libertadores campaign in Group 7. After hammering Argentine champions Estudiantes de La Plata 5-0 in their first game they beat Paraguayan side Guaraní 4-0 with two goals from Wallyson, one for Ernesto Farías and this lovely long range shot from Thiago Ribeiro.

Part of the Golazo series.

Highlights: 2011 Copa Libertadores, Group 7

  Reports & highlights of Group 7 in the 2011 Copa Libertadores.

Results

15-02-11
Deportes Tolima (Col)	1-0	Guaraní (Par)
16-02-11
Cruzeiro (Bra)	5-0	Estudiantes (Arg)
22-02-11
Cruzeiro (Bra)	4-0	Guaraní (Par)
23-02-11
Estudiantes (Arg)	1-0	Deportes Tolima (Col)
02-03-11
Deportes Tolima (Col)	0-0	Cruzeiro (Bra)
09-03-11
Guaraní (Par)	1-2	Estudiantes (Arg)
16-03-11
Cruzeiro (Bra)	6-1	Deportes Tolima (Col)
17-03-11
Estudiantes (Arg)	5-1	Guaraní (Par)
30-03-11
Deportes Tolima (Col)	1-1	Estudiantes (Arg)
31-03-11
Guaraní (Par)	0-2	Cruzeiro (Bra)
13-04-11
Guaraní (Par)	0-2	Deportes Tolima (Col)
Estudiantes (Arg)	0-3	Cruzeiro (Bra)

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Cruzeiro	6	5	1	0	20	1	+19	16
Estudiantes	6	3	1	2	9	11	−2	10
Deportes Tolima	6	2	2	2	5	8	−3	8
Guaraní	6	0	0	6	2	16	−14	0

Match reports

Round 1

The biggest shock result in the first round of games was Cruzeiro's 5-0 annihilation of Argentine champions Estudiantes which was orchestrated by Argentine midfielder Walter Montillo who bagged himself two goals. In the other game Deportes Tolima got off to a winning start with a 1-0 win against Guaraní.

Round 2

Cruzeiro continued their brilliant start to the campaign with a 4-0 demolition of Guaraní featuring another couple of goals from Wallyson to make it four in two games for the 22 year old striker, a goal for Cruzeiro's other Argentine Ernesto Farías and a cracking long range effort from Thiago Ribeiro to finish the game off.

Estudiantes recovered from their opening day mauling to record a 1-0 win against Deportes Tolima. A Pablo Barrientos free kick was enough to secure the three points in front of their own fans.

Round 3

Cruzeiro dropped their first points of the campaign in their first away game, drawing 0-0 with Deportes Tolima in Colombia. The game was not as boring as the scoreline suggests and the draw could be a reasonable result for both sides. Estudiantes closed the gap on Cruzeiro to a single point after a hard fought 1-2 away win against Guaraní. The visitors had to come back from a goal down at half time, the scorers were Pablo Barrientos and Leandro González.

Round 4

Cruzeiro continued to look like the strongest team in the tournament with a 6-1 demolition of the Deportes Tolima side that held them to a goalless draw two weeks ago. Walter Montillo had another cracking game and scored the opening goal, Roger scored twice, Wallyson climbed to the top of the goalscorers chart with his fourth of the campaign. Gilberto and Thiago Ribeiro rounded off a brilliant evening with a goal each in the last few minutes. The only slight negative is that they conceded their first goal of the tournament, but with fifteen of their own in their first four games they will not be overly concerned.

Estudiantes edged closer to qualification with a thumping 5-1 win against group whipping boys Guaraní. They were three goals up within the first 25 minutes, Rodrigo López headed the first two goals, the second a really clever header from a huge Juan Sebastián Verón pass, the third was another header from Leandro González. Facundo Roncaglia got himself sent off for lashing out with an elbow early in the second half but this did not stop Estudiantes from attacking. Rodrigo López bagged his hat-trick on 59 minutes with yet another header. Guaraní pulled one back with a scruffy goal on 77 minutes but Estudiantes responded with another goal from González three minutes later to ensure that Estudiantes go into the fifth round of games with a positive goal difference. A fourth defeat in four games means that it is now impossible for Guaraní to progress to the knockout stages.

Round 5

Cruzeiro and Estudiantes both qualified for the knockout stages after Estudiantes managed a 1-1 draw against Deportes Tolima who were eliminated. A couple of hours later Cruzeiro won 2-0 against Guaraní to secure their position at the top of the group (barring an eight goal defeat in La Plata in their last game).

Round 6

With the qualifiers already determined before the sixth round kicked off there was little to play for but pride. Guaraní certainly didn't salvage any losing 0-2 at home to Deportes Tolima. The Paraguayans lost all six of their games shipping sixteen goals in the process.

Estudiantes had a chance to avenge their 5-0 mauling by Cruzeiro in the first round but were crushed 0-3 in front of their own fans. Surely not good preparation for the knockout phase. Cruzeiro scored twenty goals in their six group games and with sixteen points and a goal difference of plus 19 they will be the top seeds in the draw for the "octavos" (last sixteen).

Back to Group stage overview page

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Golazo: Miguel Paniagua Guaraní 4-0 Libertad, Apertura 2009 Paraguay

30 May 2009: In the 17th round of the Paraguayan Apertura 2009 Guaraní defensive midfielder Miguel Paniagua scored this spectacular "chilena" to round off a surprise 4-0 win against title contenders Libertad.


Aftermath

This result was enough to derail Libertad's title challenge, they eventually finished 4 points behind champions Cerro Porteño. Guaraní finished in mid table and Paniagua earned himself a loan move to Argentine giants River Plate, the move was not a success and he returned to Guaraní in 2010.

Part of the Golazo series.