Not even the most optimistic fan could have imagined what happened on the night of last Wednesday (25) at Arena Castelão.
With an impressive performance in the second half, Fortaleza defeated Boca Juniors 4-2, in the third round of the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana.
Lucero scored twice, as did Yago Pikachu. Pochettino also stood out with three assists. Merentiel and Zenón scored for Boca.
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First half
The first half was marked by an intense and dynamic confrontation for both teams. Fortaleza, with significant changes in their lineup, faced a mixed Boca Juniors team.
Right from the start, the Tricolor showed more focus and opened the scoring in the 4th minute with Lucero, taking advantage of a mistake by the Argentine defense.
Boca responded with good plays and equalized in the 20th minute, thanks to an excellent play by Langoni that set up the goal for Merentiel.
The Argentine team almost took the lead in the 30th minute, but Langoni couldn’t reach the ball in time.
Second half
In the second half, Pikachu started with a shot from outside the area, to the left of the goal. Zé Welison also tried from afar, but the Boca goalkeeper punched it away.
On the third attempt, the Tricolor scored with Lucero, with a header.
Subsequently, with an excellent pass from Pochettino, Pikachu finally scored his goal. And soon after, the player scored his second goal in the game, the fourth for the Leão.
Zenón shot from outside the area and scored the second goal for the visitors.
How it stands?
With the result, Fortaleza leads Group D with nine points. Boca is in second place, with four points.
Sportivo Trinidense has three points, and Nacional Potosí is at the bottom, with only one point. There are still three games left for each team.
Next matches
Nacional Potosí and Fortaleza will face each other on May 8 at Víctor Ugarte, at 9pm (Brasilia time).
Sportivo Trinidense and Boca Juniors will play on the same day, at La Nueva Olla, at 9:30pm. Both games are valid for the fourth round.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
The first, second and third episodes are available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for the upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
