It may have taken Jorge Almirón weeks to get a first win under his belt as San Lorenzo manager and as a result his side were near the foot of the Superliga table but in this year’s Copa Libertadores, El Ciclón remain undefeated and a with a foot in the last 16 with two games to spare.
Victory over Melgar on Tuesday evening sent San Lorenzo six points clear of third in Group F and so only a point is needed to clinch a place in the knockout stages.
The Peruvian visitors could have done with a result to pressure Palmeiras in second and despite making life difficult for San Lorenzo found themselves behind on the stroke of half time when Gonzalo Rodríguez nodded in from a free-kick.
Things were made more complicated for San Lorenzo when Juan Camilo Salazar was sent off shortly after half time but rather than use that advantage, Melgar were also reduced to ten men after John Narváez was punished for an off the ball incident at a corner.
Ten versus ten and still only a goal separating the sides, San Lorenzo eventually sealed it. Substitute Nahuel Barrios exchanging passes with Nicolás Reniero to finish past Carlos Cáceda inside the penalty area.
A trip to Barranquilla to face struggling Junior in two weeks for San Lorenzo with a real opportunity to wrap up qualification and top spot in Group F.
San Lorenzo 2 – 0 Melgar
🇦🇷🔥⚽ Triunfo de @SanLorenzo ante @MelgarOficial
Para volver a ver: lo mejor del 2-0 en el Nuevo Gasómetro pic.twitter.com/mN13tBowYv— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) April 10, 2019
Qualification is looking far less straight forward for Godoy Cruz after defeat to Group C leaders Olimpia in Asunción.
After Roberto Ramírez failed to hold Tabaré Viudez’s powerful effort allowing Néstor Camacho to score from the rebound after 19 minutes it was difficult to see El Tomba getting a result on the road.
The visitors did have a couple of promising moments on some rare forays forward into the Olimpia penalty area with Tomás Cardona heading wide at a free-kick and Fabián Henríquez drilling a shot across the face of goal but the game slipped away before the break as Camacho grabbed his second on the counter.
Only the crossbar denied Camacho his hat-trick during the second half and although Godoy Cruz had Angel González sent off late on, the ten men did pull a goal back through Santiago García.
A winnable game against Sporting Cristal in Mendoza is up next for Godoy Cruz but should Universidad Concepción pick up three points on Wednesday, El Tomba will be five points off a place in the last 16.
Libertad 2 – 1 Godoy Cruz
🧐👏😱 ¡Para volver a ver!
Lo mejor del triunfo de @elClubOlimpia ante @ClubGodoyCruz en el Grupo C de la #CONMEBOLLibertadores🏆 pic.twitter.com/NGvAcn2B7X— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) April 10, 2019
golazo argentino 