- Tomás Cuello, scorer of the only goal in the first leg, sealed the 2-2 draw against Bragantino that closed out the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
- Eduardo Domínguez's side will face the winner of the Macará-Santos tie, to be decided on Thursday at altitude in Ambato, in the quarterfinals.
Drama took center stage at the Arena MRV. Atlético Mineiro are through to the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinals, but the ticket cost more than expected. The 'Galo' drew 2-2 with a Red Bull Bragantino side that did enough to take the tie to penalties, and only settled it in stoppage time, with a play that sums up the winner of the bracket: a steal and a goal by Tomás Cuello, the same man who had scored the only goal of the first leg. Aggregate: 3-2 and a place in the next round.
The first half belonged entirely to the visitors. They dominated the ball and the territory, piled up chances against an imprecise home side and found their reward on the last play before the break: after a series of rebounds in the box, a cutback from the right fell to Ramires, who arrived through the middle and finished right-footed, giving Everson no chance. The midfielder, booked just five minutes earlier, was putting justice on the scoreboard and leveling the tie.
The 'Galo's' response came early in the second half. Seven minutes in, a corner from the left was cleared by the São Paulo state side's defense and Maycon met it first time, with his left foot, from the edge of the D: 1-1 and the tie back in the hosts' hands.
But Bragantino never surrendered. Lifted by their substitutions, they struck again 36 minutes into the second half with a set-piece masterclass in the air: a corner from the right, a Barbosa header at the near post and the arrival of Eduardo Sasha — on the pitch for barely four minutes — to head home unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box. The 1-2 leveled the aggregate at two and was sending the tie, at that point, to penalties.
Just when the shootout seemed inevitable, football's cruel fate intervened. Barbosa, who minutes earlier had squandered a clear chance right in front of goal, lost the ball in midfield and Cuello stole it, ran alone to the edge of the box and slotted his finish inside the goalkeeper's right post. It was the second minute of stoppage time; there was no time left for another response. The Argentine, who had opened the tie in Bragança Paulista, closed it in Belo Horizonte: two of the 'Galo's' three goals in the series were his.
With qualification in hand, Atlético Mineiro now await the winner of the tie between Macará and Santos — 2-1 to the 'Peixe' in the first leg — which will be decided on Thursday at 2,500 meters above sea level in Ambato. Bragantino, meanwhile, leave the Copa with a painful paradox: they were the better side in the second leg in almost every metric, but the details — the currency that decides knockout football — all ended up on their opponent's side.
Match facts:
- Atlético Mineiro maintained their 100% record in CONMEBOL knockout ties in which they won the first leg away from home (10/10). Four of those came against Brazilian opponents.
- Atlético Mineiro registered 40% possession today against Red Bull Bragantino while holding the lead on aggregate, and 61% while level in a tie that would have gone to a penalty shootout. El 'Galo' scored their goals in the spells when they had more of the ball: 68% between Eric Ramires' and Maycon's goals, and 58% between Eduardo Sasha's and Tomás Cuello's.
- Eric Ramires of Red Bull Bragantino has been directly involved in two goals in the 2026 season across all competitions — both away from home in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana: today's goal against Atlético Mineiro and an assist against Blooming in May.
- Tomás Cuello of Atlético Mineiro has been directly involved in six goals in his last five CONMEBOL Sudamericana appearances (two goals, four assists), more than in his previous 22 matches in the competition (two goals, three assists).
- Isidro Pitta recorded the most shot assists (3, level with Lucas Barbosa) of any Red Bull Bragantino player today against Atlético Mineiro. He also exceeded his average involvements per match (17.3) in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana within the first half alone (22), finishing with 33 for the game.
- Despite the goals conceded, Everson (Atlético Mineiro) produced the match with the most goals prevented of his CONMEBOL career today: +2.1 (4.1 xGOT faced, 2 goals conceded).
