Yuri Alberto scores late and guarantees Corinthians' qualification for the next phase of the Libertadores

Corinthians beat Universidad Central in a tight match tonight at the Neo Química Arena, in the second phase of the Libertadores, by 3 to 2. Yuri Alberto, twice, and Matheus Bidu scored for Corinthians , and Adrián Martínez and Juan Cuesta scored for Universidad Central.

FIRST HALF

The first half started off with a lot of excitement. Two minutes in, Yuri Alberto opened the scoring after a pass from Carrillo. However, in the next play, João Pedro failed to clear the ball and ended up starting the Venezuelan team's equalizer, which Zapata took advantage of. After that, Corinthians pressed on and saw Memphis find Bidu entering the area, to put the team back in the lead. Once again, five minutes after the goal, another equalizer. A corner kick was taken and Hugo Souza couldn't find the ball, leaving Adrian Martínez with a free header and equalizing once again.

The second half was more open, and both Corinthians and Universidad Central had good opportunities, with both goalkeepers performing very well. Corinthians pressed for longer and in the 43rd minute of the second half, Talles Magno received the ball in the middle, passed to Garro on the left, who crossed for Yuri Alberto to shoot and give the final score to the game.

The result guarantees Corinthians a place in the third phase of the competition, still in the knockout system, in the phase that precedes the traditional group stage of the tournament.

In the next phase, Timão faces Barcelona de Guayaquil, who beat El Nacional from Ecuador in the second phase by aggregate score, after winning the first game and drawing in the decisive match.