Quito cruise to finals; San Lorenzo take first win

Liga Deportivo Universitaria de Quito (LDUQ) continued its historic run today with a 2-0 victory over Pachuca FC in a game in which they barely broke a sweat. LDUQ, the first Ecuadorian team to win the Copa Libertadores, got an early lead in the fourth minute by Claudio Bieler and then doubled it in the 25th with a beautiful free kick from Luis Bolanos.

After that, they decided to sit back, as Pachuca desperately tried to make another comeback just like they did in the first game, when they beat Al Ahly (Egypt) 4-2 after being down 2-0. Pachuca did have some opportunities, but some sloppy finishing kept them from booking a ticket into the finals.

LDUQ will now await the winner of tomorrow's Manchester United/Gamba Osaka matchup. Quito will be hoping to make some more history Sunday.

The first game of the three way playoff between Boca Juniors, Tigre and San Lorenzo was played today. Tigre and San Lorenzo squared off and there was no doubt which team was the better side. San Lorenzo came out strong and in the 18th and 20th minute put the game out of reach with goals from Pablo Barrientos and Gonzalo Bergessio. San Lorenzo had various chances to extend their advantage, but they were unable to do so. It looked like it would prove costly when Tigre got a goal back on a header by Leandro Lázzaro. Tigre was not able to threaten though.

The game was coming to a close when a shocking incident doomed Tigre. Their goalkeeper, Daniel Islas (one of the best during the league play), allowed his temper to get the better of him. Barrientos collided with the goalkeeper due to his momentum. Islas did not have the ball, but both players were able to brace for the hit and niether went down. It seemed like a minor incident until Islas allowed his temper to get the better of him and shoved the San Lorenzo attacker in the face, leading to a straight red card.

San Lorenzo won 2-1 and if they beat Boca Juniors Saturday, they could win the league title. Tigre is now on the outside looking in as they need to beat Boca Juniors and hope that San Lorenzo lose. They will also be without their goalkeeper.

Final in Argentina

The Argentine Apertura tournament has seen the season end, but there is still no winner. In what has been a heated race, Boca Juniors, Tigre and San Lorenzo will have to play a playoff in order to decide the league winner after all three teams finished tied with 39 points (19 games).

Boca Juniors came out firing on all cylinders, as they stormed to a 3-0 lead after a little less than 25 minutes of play. Juan Roman Riquelme scored a goal, sandwiched between two by Lucho Figueroa. Midfielders Jesus Datolo, Sebastian Battaglia and Fabian Vargas were playing incredible well and everything seemed to be going fine, even after a late Colon goal sent the teams into the locker room tied 3-1.

Elsewhere, San Lorenzo got to an early start capitalizing on a defensive error from Argentinos Juniors that saw Bergessio scored in the 8th minute. Tigre were having a tough time at home against Banfield, but hero Martin Morel scored his 13th goal of the tournament to give Tigre a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, San Lorenzo and Tigre were able to hold off their opponents and win 1-0. However, Boca Juniors had some problems as Colon made it 3-2 early in the second half. After many missed chances from both sides though, the game finished 3-2, meaning a mini tournament will be played between the three teams in neutral stadiums to decide who will take home the title.

The draw was done later and the following fixture has been set:

Wednesday Dec. 17th:
Tigre v. San Lorenzo

Saturday Dec. 20th
San Lorenzo v. Boca Juniors

Tuesday Dec. 23rd
Boca Juniors v. Tigre