Palmeiras thrashes Universitario (4-0) in Lima in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16

Led by the lethal duo Vítor Roque and José Manuel López, Palmeiras thrashed Universitário 4-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores, played this Thursday (14), in Lima.

In a faithful demonstration that they are one of the favorites for the title, Verdão made the difference from the initial whistle and without breaking a sweat, with goals from Gustavo Gómez after just 7 minutes, López (12′ and 75′) and Roque (30′).

The overwhelming result silenced the more than 55,000 fans who filled the stands at the Monumental de Lima, the same stadium that will host the Libertadores final on November 29.

The return leg will be played next Thursday in São Paulo, and whoever advances will face the winner of the match between Argentina's River Plate and Libertad from Paraguay, which began with a goalless draw, in the quarterfinals.

– Overwhelming first half –

The first few minutes were marked by joy and incessant chants from the Universitário fans, but the optimism was short-lived. Seven minutes in, a penalty converted by Paraguayan Gustavo Gómez began to highlight the difference in level between the two teams.

The Verdão captain opened the scoring with a powerful shot that crossed the ball to the right of Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastián Britos. The penalty had been awarded to Vitor Roque, the 20-year-old star of the team, who was brought down in the box by Matías di Benedetto.

After 12 minutes, the score was already 2-0. Argentine José “el flaco” López, in a one-two with Roque, got away from three defenders and sent the ball into the back of the net.

Power, efficiency and speed were the formula for the team led by Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira to easily overcome the home team.

Universitario almost scored in the 25th minute when Andy Polo's cross led to a header from Valera that grazed the right post, but the Brazilians scored their third goal half an hour into the match with a powerful left-footed shot from Roque following a long pass from Joaquín Piquerez.

– Red card –

The pace imposed by Verdão remained unchanged in the second half, which highlighted the desperation of the team led by Uruguayan Jorge Fossati just a few minutes after the break.

In the 50th minute, Williams Riveros was sent off by referee Facundo Tello for bringing down López on a counterattack. The referee had given him a yellow card, but after a VAR review, reversed the decision.

With 10 men on the field, Universitário retreated to avoid a bigger rout, but in the 75th minute, López scored Verdão's fourth goal, taking advantage of a rebound. The referee initially flagged for offside, but after consulting VAR, allowed the goal.

The classification was practically complete before the return match, which will be played in a week's time in São Paulo.

Lineups:

University: Sebastián Britos – Andy Polo Andrade, Aldo Corzo (cap), Williams Riveros, Matias Di Benedetto, César Inga – Martín Pérez Guedes (Jose Carabali 57′), Rodrigo Ureña (Jorge Murrugarra 46′), Jairo Concha (Jesús Castillo Molina 66′) – Alex Valera (Diego Churín 66′), Edison Flores (Jairo Velez Cedeno 78′). Coach: Jorge Fossati.

Coach: Abel Ferreira

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