The Beira-Rio stadium in Porto Alegre was the venue for the first leg of the Copa Libertadores Final between Sao Paulo and Atletico Paranaense, which for the first time ever is been decided by two teams from the same country.
In a what was a very even match Sao Paulo could only manage a 1-1 draw against the surprise finalists Atletico Paranaense.
Atletico Paranaense attacked from the very start and opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Aloisio headed in a Jancarlos cross.
After the goal Atletico Paranaense sat back and defended. Sao Paulo eventually made the break through at the start of the second half when Atletico Paranaense defender Durval headed man-of-the-match Junior’s cross into his own net in the 52nd minute.
Both teams missed some good chances in what was an open and exciting game. But Sao Paulo will go into the final game (next Wednesday) at home with the physiological advantage.
“This is a good result for us, because we are at home for the second leg,” said Sao Paulo’s Junior.
“The game was well balanced but we deserved to win because we controlled the ball and attacked more than our rivals.”
