Colo-Colo 2-3 Cerro Porteño, Copa Libertadores 2011

Game of the week - 22 April 2011

On 21 April 2011 Chilean side Colo-Colo hosted Cerro Porteño of Paraguay in the last game in group five of Copa Libertadores 2011. Both sides had been struggling in their own domestic leagues but this game would give the winners a chance to progress to the knockout stages of Copa Libertadores.

The game started well for the home team who established a two goal lead with a pair of cracking goals from Cristobal Jorquera and Esteban Paredes meaning that the visitors would need three goals in order to progress.

Jonathan Fabbro got a goal back for the visitors before half time with a quality shot into the far top corner and minutes after the break Iván Piris levelled the scores after a cool assist from Roberto Nanni. Fabbro secured his position as the hero of the day for Cerro Porteño with an 88th minute free kick for a famous comeback.

Neutrals should be a bit sad to see Colo-Colo eliminated from the competition as they were the second highest scorers after Cruzeiro, the team who's six games featured the most goals (31) and played in four amazing games selected by us as our games of the week.

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

Sergio Herrera vs Cerro Porteño, Copa Libertadores 2011

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On 10 march 2011 Paragauyan side Cerro Porteño hosted Venezuelan visitors Deportivo Táchira in a group 5 game in Copa Libertadores 2011. The home team could have taken a four point lead at the top of the group with a win however they could only manage a 1-1 draw after Segio Herrera scored this brilliant equaliser. The 29 year old striker controlled the long ball well, nutmegged Roberto Burgos and fired a powerful shot into the net.

Part of the Golazo series.

Game of the week: Cerro Porteño 5-2 Colo-Colo

In the first round of games in Group 5 of the 2011 Copa Libertadores Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño put on a magnificent display to crush Colo-Colo of Chile 5-2. One of the highlights of the game was 17 year old Argentine born forward Juan Manuel Iturbe's Copa Libertadores debut as a second half substitute, he lived up to expectation hitting two goals.

The result left 29 time Chilean champions Colo-Colo in serious trouble, not only were they bottom of the Chilean league after their worst ever start to a league season they got their Copa Libertadores campaign off to a terrible start.

Part of the game of the week series.

Highlights: 2011 Copa Libertadores, Group 5

  Reports & highlights of Group 5 in the 2011 Copa Libertadores.

Results

15-02-11
Deportivo Táchira (Ven)	0-0	Santos (Bra)
17-02-11
Cerro Porteño (Par)	5-2	Colo-Colo (Chi)
01-03-11
Deportivo Táchira (Ven)	2-4	Colo-Colo (Chi)
02-03-11
Santos (Bra)	1-1	Cerro Porteño (Par)
10-03-11
Cerro Porteño (Par)	1-1	Deportivo Táchira (Ven)
16-03-11
Colo-Colo (Chi)	3-2	Santos (Bra)
05-04-11
Deportivo Táchira (Ven)	0-2	Cerro Porteño (Par)
06-04-11
Santos (Bra)	3-2	Colo-Colo (Chi)
12-04-11
Colo-Colo (Chi)	2-1	Deportivo Táchira (Ven)
13-04-11
Cerro Porteño (Par)	1-2	Santos (Bra)
20-04-11
Colo-Colo (Chi)	2-3	Cerro Porteño (Par)
Santos (Bra)	3-1	Deportivo Táchira (Ven)

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Cerro Porteño	6	3	2	1	13	8	+5	11
Santos	6	3	2	1	11	8	+3	11
Colo-Colo	6	3	0	3	15	16	−1	9
Deportivo Táchira	6	0	2	4	5	12	−7	2

Match reports

Round 1

After Corintians failure to progress through the qualifying round Santos were the next Brazilian side to slip up dropping points in a 0-0 away draw against Venezuelan side Deportivo Táchira. After the boring stalemate of the first game the second game provided plenty of entertainment with Cerro Porteño beating Colo-Colo 5-2. A brilliant result for the Paraguayan side who saw Argentine striker Roberto Nanni bag a couple of goals and his 17 year old countryman Juan Manuel Iturbe bag a couple more as a 2nd half substitute.

Round 2

By the time the second round of games came around Colo-Colo had found themselves a new manager, Argentine veteran coach made his debut as their coach in a potentially tough looking tie against Deportivo Táchira however they cruised through the game, establishing a four goal lead before Táchira pulled a couple of goals back in the dying minutes of the game.

In their second game Santos dropped more points, this time in front of their own fans in a 1-1 draw against Cerro Porteñ. The Brazilians went ahead early in thesecond half with a penalty from former Manchester City player Elano but the Paraguayans bagged a 90th minute equaliser with a penalty from Roberto Nanni.

Round 3

Cerro Perteño extended their lead at the top of the group with a 1-1 home draw against Deportivo Táchira however dropping points at home against the Venezuelans will be considered a big waste. Cerro's influential Argentine forward Roberto Nanni put the home side ahead with an intelligent shot to beat Manuel Sanhouse at his near post but Sergio Herrera equalised for the visitors with a quality goals, in which he controlled a long ball, retained posession, nutmegged Roberto Burgos and fired a powerful long range shot into the net.

The following week Colo-Colo took over as leaders of the group with a 3-2 home win against a star studded Santos side in our game of the week. The Brazilians took an early lead when Juan Castillo in the Colo-Colo goal failed to read the swerve on an Elano free kick and dominated the next twenty minutes or so as their shellshocked hosts tried to get back into the game. The equaliser came in the 27th minute when Esteban Paredes picked himself up from a stumbling challenge from Durval to chip the ball into the far top corner and from that point until the end of the first half it was one way traffic with two more goals for Colo-Colo from Ezequiel Miralles and Andés Scotti. Neymar pulled a goal back for Santos in the second half but the home side held on for a famous victory. After their pathetic start to the season new manager Américo Gallego has them playing some really good stuff, they have now won five consecutive games in all competitions and last night's result was their first Copa Libertadores home win against Brazilian opposition in 14 years.

Round 4

 The return tie between Santos and Colo-Colo was also a classic. The Brazilians won 3-2 in a game which also featured five red cards and was selected as our game of the week.

Cerro Porteño stayed at the top of the group after a 0-2 away win against Deportivo Táchira. Roberto Nanni scored a great goal to finish off a nice move for their first and Iván Torres scored with a dipping shot from outside the area in the second half.

Round 5

Colo-Colo eliminated Deportivo Táchira from the competition with a 2-1 home win. The hosts fell behind after only four minutes but a brace from Diego Rubio secured the win for Colo-Colo. The result lifted the Chileans to the top of the group and left Brazilian side Santos needing to avoid defeat in their fifth game against Cerro Porteño in Paragauy. Even a draw would have left them in big trouble with three points to make up and an inferior goal difference, but they managed to earn themselves a valuable 1-2 away win to give themselves an excellent chance of making the knockout phase.

Round 6

Santos secured their place in the knockout stages with a comfortable 3-1 home win against bottom of the table Deportivo Táchira. Neymar, Jonathan Cícero and Danilo da Silva bagged the goals for the home team who qualified despite their poor start to the group phase.

The other place went to Cerro Porteño who secured quilfication thenk to a late goal from Jonathan Fabbro to give them a 3-2 win aginst Colo-Colo. Neutrals will be sad to see Colo-Colo go out as they were one of the most entertaining teams in the tournament, their six games featured 31 goals, an average of more than four goals a game.

Back to Group stage overview page

For more South American football highlights, including the Argentine and Brazilian leagues, the pick of the rest and other international tournaments:

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Golazo: Juan Manuel Iturbe vs Brazil, Sudamericano Sub-20

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After he scored this excellent individual goal against Brazil in the 2011 South American Youth Championships on 6 February 2011 the amount of speculation about 17 year old Argentine sensation Juan Manuel Iturbe has balooned with a lot of rumours linking him with a move to Manchester United.

It is an impressive goal and he has played well during the Sudamericano sub-20 championship but the reality is that most Argentines don't know a lot about him. He was born in Argentina to Paraguayan immigrants and began his professional playing career with Cerro Porteño in Paraguay.

In 2010 he was signed by newly promoted Primera División side Quilmes however Cerro Porteño have contested the transfer and because of this his registration has not been passed to the Argentine club. He missed the entire Apertura tournament and there is still some doubt as to whether he will be allowed to play in the forthcoming Clausura tournament.

It was a big surprise when he signed for Quilmes who were expected to be embroiled in a big relegation fight and the problems with his registration must have been a big blow to both the player and his club. After standing out as one of the stars of Argentina's sub-20 team in Peru it would be useful for him to keep the momentum by playing regular club football and his presence in the side could be the boost that Quilmes need to spur them on in their battle to avoid relegation.

Part of the Golazo series.

Cosas locas: Fluminense vs Cerro Porteño fight

In November 2009 the semi-final of Copa Sudamericana between Brazilian side Fluminense and Cerro Porteño of Paraguay descended into a mass brawl after Fluminense scored 2 goals in injury time in the second leg.

Fluminense progressed to the final, however they were beaten by Ecuadorian side Liga de Quito on penalties in a major continental final for the second time in two years.

For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.