- El Peixe underlined their quality with a 4-1 victory over U.C.V. FC in Venezuela in the first leg of their CONMEBOL Sudamericana Round of 16 play-off tie.
- The tie will be decided at Vila Belmiro on Tuesday 28 July, with Ecuador’s Macará awaiting the winners in the next round.
Cuca’s side showcased their full attacking repertoire on Venezuelan soil, where the hosts had recorded two wins and one defeat during the CONMEBOL Libertadores group stage. Bontempo, Menino, Thaciano and Rony scored for the visitors, while Ruiz pulled one back for Universidad Central.
Just after kick-off, Edwin Mosquera threatened with a long-range effort that Brazilian goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão gathered at the second attempt. Shortly afterwards, the hosts tested the Santos keeper again from distance, as Argentina’s Francisco Solé struck from outside the penalty area and Brazão pushed the ball away to safety.
Peixe responded almost immediately. Miguelito and Benjamín Rollheiser combined in the final third before the former River Plate player finished the move with a shot that flew narrowly over the crossbar.
After the cooling break, Thaciano, one of the Brazilian side’s main attacking threats, found himself one-on-one with Giancarlo Schiavone for the first time, but his finish drifted just wide of the left post. Santos’ third chance proved decisive: Bontempo collected the rebound from Gabriel Menino’s initial effort and, with time and precision, placed the ball beyond Schiavone and into the far corner to make it 1-0 after 35 minutes.
Santos made the brighter start to the second half. Argentine forward Álvaro Barreal advanced down the left and attempted to guide an outside-of-the-boot effort towards the far post, narrowly missing the chance to extend the visitors’ lead. The second goal was not long in coming, however. Once again, the move developed down the right flank. Uruguayan midfielder Oliva played Gabriel Menino in behind, and he controlled the ball with his chest before beating the Venezuelan goalkeeper with a thunderous strike.
Thaciano made amends after the break. Barreal set up his team-mate following an excellent individual move, and the Brazilian forward made it three for Cuca’s side in a one-on-one with Schiavone. Santos’ substitutions brought fresh energy to their attack and helped produce Peixe’s fourth goal. Robinho Jr. tried his luck from distance and Schiavone parried his effort, but the rebound fell to Rony, who made no mistake with the finish.
The hosts continued to push until the end, showing spirit and pride in search of a consolation goal. Daniel De Sousa capitalised on a lapse in the Santos defensive line and set up Maicol Ruiz, who steered a left-footed shot into the corner to make it 4-1 and keep the Venezuelan side’s hopes alive.
The tie will be decided in São Paulo state on Tuesday 28 July, when Santos host Universidad Central de Venezuela at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira in Vila Belmiro from 21:30 local time. Ecuador’s Macará await the winners in the Round of 16.
The match in numbers:
- This was Santos’ first away victory outside Brazil in the knockout stages of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- Santos scored four goals in a CONMEBOL Sudamericana match for the first time. They also recorded their first away victory outside Brazil by a margin of three or more goals in the knockout stages of a CONMEBOL competition.
- Gabriel Bontempo has scored three goals in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, the joint-highest tally by a Santos player in a single edition of the competition. He is level with Gabriel Barbosa in 2026, Bryan Angulo in 2022, and Elano and Basílio in 2004.
- Gabriel Menino has scored four goals in CONMEBOL competitions for Santos, three of them in knockout matches: against U.C.V. FC in the Sudamericana play-offs, and for Palmeiras in the 2020 Libertadores against Delfín in the Round of 16 and Libertad in the quarter-finals.
- Four of Rony’s last five goals in CONMEBOL competitions have come as a substitute. He has scored 28 goals and provided 19 assists in those tournaments. Since 2018, only Gabriel Barbosa, with 49, has recorded more goal involvements than Rony’s 47 in CONMEBOL competitions.
- Alexander Granko made his CONMEBOL Sudamericana debut at the age of 17 years and 300 days, having already featured in the 2025 and 2026 Libertadores. He is the first player to appear in both of South America’s major club competitions for a Venezuelan team before turning 18 since Christian Makoun did so with Zamora in the 2017 Libertadores and 2018 Sudamericana.
