- The Argentine scored the only goal of the first leg in Bragança and closed out the second with a steal and a stoppage-time finish: two of the 'Galo's' three goals in the series against his former club were his.
- Atlético Mineiro, the competition's reigning runners-up, will face the winner of the Macará-Santos tie in the quarterfinals.
Knockout ties usually have an owner, and the one between Atlético Mineiro and Red Bull Bragantino had one with a first name, a last name and a past in both dressing rooms: Tomás Cuello. The Argentine scored the only goal of the first leg in Bragança Paulista and, just as the second leg at the Arena MRV was drifting toward penalties, he appeared again, with a steal in midfield and a run to the box to seal the 2-2 draw that was worth a 3-2 aggregate. Two of the 'Galo's' three goals in the series were his, both against the club that brought him to Brazil. Eduardo Domínguez's team are in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarterfinals and owe their ticket, above all, to their number 28.
The final chapter was pure drama. Bragantino did more than enough to take the tie to a shootout: they struck on the last play of the first half through Ramires' goal, conceded Maycon's equalizer seven minutes into the second half, and moved back in front — leveling the aggregate — with Eduardo Sasha's header 36 minutes into the half, dominating the second leg in almost every metric. But in the second minute of stoppage time, Barbosa — who moments earlier had squandered a glaring chance right in front of goal — lost the ball in midfield and Cuello stole it, ran alone to the edge of the box and finished inside the goalkeeper's right post. There was no time for anything more: the Argentine's pounce turned a night of suffering into qualification.
The profile explains the character. Born in Tucumán and developed at the province's Atlético, he crossed over to Brazil in 2020 and built his career between Bragantino and Athletico Paranaense before Atlético Mineiro bought him in January 2025, as the fifth signing of that window, on a contract running to the end of 2028. In the attacking unit he shares with Bernard, Reinier and Cassierra, his trademark was never the goal but the pressing, the sacrifice and the final pass: that dual role of winning the ball back and arriving in the opposition box that Domínguez values so highly, and which had translated into assists during the Group Stage.
That is why the goal in the second leg works as the perfect summary of his game: the play that put the 'Galo' into the quarterfinals was born from his oldest virtue — the recovery — and ended with the facet he was debuting in this edition of the tournament: the finish. Cuello no longer only creates goals for others; now he scores his own, and in the moments that weigh the most.
With the tie closed out, Atlético Mineiro, the competition's reigning runners-up, await the winner of the series between Macará and Santos in the quarterfinals, to be decided on Thursday at 2,500 meters above sea level in Ambato, with the 'Peixe' holding a 2-1 lead. If the 'Galo' are to fight for La Gran Conquista again, they now know they have far more than a creator of goals for others in the Tucumán native: they have the man who, when the tie demanded it, settled it twice.
El perfil explica el personaje. Nacido en Tucumán y formado en Atlético de esa provincia, cruzó a Brasil en 2020 y construyó su carrera entre Bragantino y Athletico Paranaense antes de que Atlético Mineiro lo comprara en enero de 2025, como quinto refuerzo de aquel mercado y con contrato hasta fines de 2028. En el frente de ataque que integra junto a Bernard, Reinier y Cassierra, su sello nunca fue el gol sino la presión, el sacrificio y el último pase: esa doble función de recuperar y pisar el área rival que Domínguez valora tanto y que en la Fase de Grupos se había traducido en asistencias.
Por eso el gol de la vuelta funciona como síntesis perfecta de su juego: la jugada que metió al 'Galo' en Cuartos nació de su virtud más antigua —la recuperación— y terminó con la faceta que estaba estrenando en esta edición del certamen, la definición. Cuello ya no solo fabrica goles ajenos; ahora también grita los propios, y en los momentos donde más pesan.
Con la serie cerrada, Atlético Mineiro, subcampeón vigente de la competencia, espera en los Cuartos de Final por el ganador de la llave entre Macará y Santos, que se define este jueves en los 2.500 metros de Ambato con ventaja 2-1 para el 'Peixe'. Si el 'Galo' quiere volver a pelear por La Gran Conquista, ya sabe que tiene en el tucumano mucho más que un fabricante de goles ajenos: tiene al hombre que, cuando la serie lo pidió, la definió dos veces.
