- Atlético Mineiro will look to overturn a tie that began with them at a disadvantage when they host Santos in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarter-finals.
- Galo will draw confidence from a telling statistic: they have lost just one of their last 29 second legs at home in CONMEBOL competitions (20 wins and 8 draws).
Atlético Mineiro get back the player who has manufactured the most goals at their home. Tomás Cuello, suspended for the first leg at the Vila Belmiro, was directly involved in five of the seven goals the 'Galo' scored at home in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana, with four assists in the group stage and the goal against Red Bull Bragantino in the Round of 16. His return is the reigning runners-up's first card in trying to overturn the 0-2, and the Arena MRV is the second: Mineiro have lost just one of their last 29 home second legs in CONMEBOL competitions, with 20 wins and eight draws, and in that span eliminated Fluminense in the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals and Bragantino in the Round of 16 of this competition.
Santos, on the other hand, travel with a lead that has almost always been enough. The 'Peixe' went through in 12 of the last 13 CONMEBOL competition ties in which they won the first leg at home, including two eliminations of Brazilian sides in this competition, São Paulo in 2004 and Cruzeiro in 2006, and Cuca's side have gone three straight away matches in the edition without ever being behind. In the first leg, Willian Arão, the midfielder converted into a center-back, and Christian Oliva scored the goals; Gabigol assisted both and reached nine direct goal contributions, five goals and four assists, the most in the edition.
Atlético Mineiro in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and schedule
The Vila Belmiro was end-to-end, with Mineiro dominating possession and Santos striking. Eduardo Domínguez's side played without Cuello, without Everson, who has a fractured foot, and without Neymar, injured and watching from a box, and finished with nine shots to 13. Gonzalo Escobar, the Santos full-back, was the player who completed the most ball carries into the opposition box among all those who played the first legs of these quarterfinals, with four.
The precedent Mineiro need to overturn is a heavy one: only three teams that lost the first leg of a CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinal by two or more goals have managed to turn the tie around in the entire history of the competition. The 'Galo', who reached the final last year and lost it on penalties to Lanús, are looking to become the fourth.
Santos in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana: results, squad and schedule
Match details:
Stadium: Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte
Date and time: Wednesday, September 16, 7:00 PM (Argentina time)
Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)
VAR: Hernán Mastrangelo (Argentina)
The match in numbers:
- Gonzalo Escobar (Santos) was the player who completed the most ball carries into the opposition box (4) among all those who took part in the first legs of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinals.
- Santos have gone three consecutive away matches without being behind in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Among the teams that have played more than two matches in this edition of the competition, the Peixe have the third-lowest average of minutes spent trailing away from home (8.4), after Macará (4.6) and River (0).
- Santos advanced in 12 of the last 13 CONMEBOL competition ties in which they won the first leg at home, including two eliminations of Brazilian opponents in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana: São Paulo in the 2004 Round of 16 and Cruzeiro in the 2006 second round.
- Atlético Mineiro have lost just one of the last 29 home second legs they have played in CONMEBOL competitions (20W 8D). In that span, they have racked up five wins and two draws against Brazilian opponents, advancing in the two most recent cases: they eliminated Fluminense in the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals and Red Bull Bragantino in the Round of 16 of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- Tomás Cuello (Atlético Mineiro) was directly involved in five of the seven goals Atlético Mineiro scored at home in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, contributing four assists in the group stage and a goal in their last home match against RB Bragantino. The Galo player was unable to play in the first leg of this tie due to suspension.
