Ronaldinho and his Flamengo humiliated at home by Universidad de Chile.
There were mixed fortunes for Brazilian sides in the Copa Sudamericana on Wednesday, as while Sao Paulo moved a step closer towards the quarter-finals after beating Libertad, Flamengo have practically kissed their chances of advancing goodbye after being on the wrong end of a heavy defeat to Universidad de Chile.
Flamengo, one of the main title candidates coming into the competition, will need to pray for a miracle in Santiago in order to reach the next phase, because as for now this seems almost an impossible task.
Meanwhile, Argentine side Arsenal de Sarandi are only the second side to have qualified for the quarter-finals along with Liga de Quito, after scraping past Olimpia of Paraguay in what was undoubtedly the best match of the tournament up until now.
Arsenal de Sarandi advanced to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after defeating Olimpia 3-2 in an action-packed encounter in Argentina on Wednesday.
After a goalless draw in Paraguay, the tie was completely wide open, but it was Arsenal who took the initiative, by piling heavy pressure on the visiting goal.
Arsenal were rewarded for their attacking approach in the 15th minute, when Cristian Trombetta put them ahead after connecting to a precise Adrian Gonzalez free-kick with an unstoppable header. Four minutes later Emilio Zelaya doubled Arsenal's lead, when he met another Gonzalez ball with a clever finish.
It seemed that Gustavo Alfaro's side were cruising, however, two well-taken goals from Pablo Zeballos brought Olimpia level entering the break.
Understandably the second half was much different to the first, as both teams needed some time to breathe, and were more than happy to slow down the tempo a touch.
It seemed that the match was destined for a draw, but this was not to be the case, as six minutes from full-time Gustavo Blanco Leschuk headed home the winner for Arsenal, even though he was clearly in an offside position.
Arsenal advanced to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana, a tournament which they had won in 2007, when they beat Club America of Mexico in the final.
Sao Paulo took their first step towards the quarter-finals of the tournament after edging Libertad of Paraguay 1-0 at the Morumbi stadium. The only goal of the match was scored by Luis Fabiano in the second half.
The Brazilians were in need of a victory, after a series of poor results and the eventual dismissal of their coach, but they needed to be at their best because they were up against a strong Paraguayan side that always give their one-hundred percent.
Sao Paulo played the better soccer in the first period, but missed a couple of clear goal-scoring opportunities, namely an effort from Brazilian international Lucas.
After the break the game became extremely tense, as while Sao Paulo tried their best to play attacking soccer, the Paraguayans stayed back in defense and looked to break on swift counterattacks at every opportunity.
As the clock ticked by it seemed that Jorge Burruchaga's side would return to Asuncion with a valuable draw, however, in the 76th minute Luis Fabiano appeared to snatch Sao Paulo a crucial victory.
Luis Fabiano, who hadn't scored in five matches since returning from a lengthy injury layoff, brought down a good ball into the area and fired the ball past Libertad goalkeeper Bernardo Medina.
Sao Paulo take a minimal advantage into the return leg of the tie, that will be played on the 26th of October in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Universidad de Chile have more than one foot in the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after hammering Flamengo 4-0 in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
The Chileans took the initiative immediately from the kick-off, as they controlled the flow of the match, and went ahead in the 13th minute when Jose Rojas beat Flamengo goalkeeper Felipe with a shot that went in off the post.
A further blow for Flamengo came in the 26th minute when Airton was ejected for a violent foul on Osvaldo Gonzalez. La 'U' took full advantage of their extra-man with Eduardo Vargas adding two more goals inside one minute before the half-time break.
Flamengo star Ronaldinho could barely get into the game as his side continued to be outplayed by the speedy Chileans, who looked dangerous each time they moved to the attack.
Universidad were also reduced to ten-men early in the second half, but it didn't affect their game at all, in fact in the 62nd minute they were awarded a penalty-kick. However, Matias Rodriguez's effort was saved by Felipe.
But Rodriguez redeemed himself, when nine minutes later he set-up Gustavo Lorenzetti with a cheeky back-heel to complete the rout.
Universidad, who eliminated Flamengo from the Copa Libertadores last year, will play hosts to the Brazilians in the return leg in Santiago with a comfortable four-goal advantage.
Flamengo, one of the main title candidates coming into the competition, will need to pray for a miracle in Santiago in order to reach the next phase, because as for now this seems almost an impossible task.
Meanwhile, Argentine side Arsenal de Sarandi are only the second side to have qualified for the quarter-finals along with Liga de Quito, after scraping past Olimpia of Paraguay in what was undoubtedly the best match of the tournament up until now.
Arsenal de Sarandi advanced to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after defeating Olimpia 3-2 in an action-packed encounter in Argentina on Wednesday.
After a goalless draw in Paraguay, the tie was completely wide open, but it was Arsenal who took the initiative, by piling heavy pressure on the visiting goal.
Arsenal were rewarded for their attacking approach in the 15th minute, when Cristian Trombetta put them ahead after connecting to a precise Adrian Gonzalez free-kick with an unstoppable header. Four minutes later Emilio Zelaya doubled Arsenal's lead, when he met another Gonzalez ball with a clever finish.
It seemed that Gustavo Alfaro's side were cruising, however, two well-taken goals from Pablo Zeballos brought Olimpia level entering the break.
Understandably the second half was much different to the first, as both teams needed some time to breathe, and were more than happy to slow down the tempo a touch.
It seemed that the match was destined for a draw, but this was not to be the case, as six minutes from full-time Gustavo Blanco Leschuk headed home the winner for Arsenal, even though he was clearly in an offside position.
Arsenal advanced to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana, a tournament which they had won in 2007, when they beat Club America of Mexico in the final.
Sao Paulo took their first step towards the quarter-finals of the tournament after edging Libertad of Paraguay 1-0 at the Morumbi stadium. The only goal of the match was scored by Luis Fabiano in the second half.
The Brazilians were in need of a victory, after a series of poor results and the eventual dismissal of their coach, but they needed to be at their best because they were up against a strong Paraguayan side that always give their one-hundred percent.
Sao Paulo played the better soccer in the first period, but missed a couple of clear goal-scoring opportunities, namely an effort from Brazilian international Lucas.
After the break the game became extremely tense, as while Sao Paulo tried their best to play attacking soccer, the Paraguayans stayed back in defense and looked to break on swift counterattacks at every opportunity.
As the clock ticked by it seemed that Jorge Burruchaga's side would return to Asuncion with a valuable draw, however, in the 76th minute Luis Fabiano appeared to snatch Sao Paulo a crucial victory.
Luis Fabiano, who hadn't scored in five matches since returning from a lengthy injury layoff, brought down a good ball into the area and fired the ball past Libertad goalkeeper Bernardo Medina.
Sao Paulo take a minimal advantage into the return leg of the tie, that will be played on the 26th of October in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Universidad de Chile have more than one foot in the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana after hammering Flamengo 4-0 in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
The Chileans took the initiative immediately from the kick-off, as they controlled the flow of the match, and went ahead in the 13th minute when Jose Rojas beat Flamengo goalkeeper Felipe with a shot that went in off the post.
A further blow for Flamengo came in the 26th minute when Airton was ejected for a violent foul on Osvaldo Gonzalez. La 'U' took full advantage of their extra-man with Eduardo Vargas adding two more goals inside one minute before the half-time break.
Flamengo star Ronaldinho could barely get into the game as his side continued to be outplayed by the speedy Chileans, who looked dangerous each time they moved to the attack.
Universidad were also reduced to ten-men early in the second half, but it didn't affect their game at all, in fact in the 62nd minute they were awarded a penalty-kick. However, Matias Rodriguez's effort was saved by Felipe.
But Rodriguez redeemed himself, when nine minutes later he set-up Gustavo Lorenzetti with a cheeky back-heel to complete the rout.
Universidad, who eliminated Flamengo from the Copa Libertadores last year, will play hosts to the Brazilians in the return leg in Santiago with a comfortable four-goal advantage.
