- Estudiantes de La Plata and Corinthians played out a historic quarter-final decider in the CONMEBOL Libertadores.
- Memphis Depay missed a penalty in the dying moments of the match that could have changed the course of the tie.
The rich history of the 'Pincha' is filled with heroic nights in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. Today, in São Paulo, they produced another that will go down in the club's golden pages. In a closely fought tie, they won 1-0 away from home and, following a 1-1 draw in the second leg, secured their place in the semi-finals, where they will face the winner of the Flamengo v Independiente del Valle tie. That tie will be decided in Rio de Janeiro, with the reigning champions holding a 2-0 advantage after the first leg.
The first half, as expected, featured little football and plenty of physicality, following a similar pattern to the first leg in La Plata. The first chance of note came in the 22nd minute, when Dutchman Memphis Depay took a free-kick from the left in an attempt to catch Fernando Muslera by surprise, but without troubling the Uruguayan goalkeeper.
Peruvian midfielder André Carrillo also tried his luck from distance after a fine individual run in which he beat two opponents, but his effort went narrowly over. Estudiantes responded just before the interval with the clearest opportunity of the opening 45 minutes. Leandro González Pirez anticipated the play in the opposition half and switched the ball to Joaquín Correa, whose cross found Joaquín Tobio Burgos, but the forward lacked the accuracy needed with his volley to open the scoring.
After the interval, both sides altered their approach in search of a greater attacking presence. Once again, Tobio Burgos had a chance to put 'León' ahead; under pressure and in an awkward position, he could not make proper contact with Baltasar Rodríguez's cross.
Muslera had to intervene to prevent the Argentine side from conceding. Matheus Bidu cut inside from the left and aimed for the far post with his right foot, but the 'Charrúa' goalkeeper stretched to his left and turned the effort behind for a corner.
The minutes ticked away under a blanket of tension that had everyone inside the Neo Química Arena on edge. And the decisive moment, in keeping with the way the match had unfolded, could hardly have been more dramatic. Corinthians pushed for victory on the back of their home support, while Estudiantes, driven by grit and determination, gave everything until the final whistle.
In the 87th minute, the 'Pincha' produced a goal worthy of such a classic cup tie. Tomás Palacios, turning provider, delivered a cross from the left which found Alexis Castro — scorer in the first leg — and his emphatic volley sparked celebrations among the visiting supporters in São Paulo.
A minute before the end, after the ball struck González Pirez's hand, Jesús Valenzuela awarded Corinthians a penalty. Depay had the chance to take the tie to another twist, but missed from the spot with the final action of the night. Alexander Medina's side produced another away-day feat, just as they had in the Round of 16.
Match facts:
- Estudiantes de La Plata have reached the CONMEBOL Libertadores semi-finals for the second time in the last 43 years, having previously done so in 2009, when they won the fourth and most recent of their four tournament titles.
- Estudiantes de La Plata eliminated a Brazilian side in the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarter-finals for the first time in their history. They had previously gone out in all four of their previous ties at this stage (São Paulo in 2006, Internacional in 2010, Athletico Paranaense in 2022 and Flamengo in 2025).
- Estudiantes recorded their third away win against a Brazilian side in CONMEBOL Libertadores history, following victories over Cruzeiro in the 2009 final (2-1) and Red Bull Bragantino in May 2022 (1-0).
- Estudiantes allowed Corinthians just three shots from inside the box, including the penalty in the 100th minute and 50th second. It is the joint-lowest number of shots allowed by a side to Timão away from home in a CONMEBOL Libertadores match since records began in 2013, level with Once Caldas in 2015.
- After failing to score in his first 13 CONMEBOL Libertadores appearances for Estudiantes, Alexis Castro scored in both legs against Corinthians. He is the third Pincha player in the 21st century to score in both matches of a knockout tie, after Leandro González in the 2010 Round of 16 and José Luis Calderón in the 2006 Round of 16.
