Liga de Loja, Deportivo Quito and Emelec, qualified for the knockout stages of Copa Sudamericana.

Liga de Loja

After beating the Uruguayan socccer team Nacional, 1-2 in the Estadio Centenario, Ecuadorian Liga de Loja made history in its club since they passed to the second round of the Copa Sudamericana; now they are preparing themselves to face the Brazilian Sao Paulo.

Althoug, Nacional was superior in his game, Liga never lost his tactical discipline and made the most of their chances to score and unbalance. At the minute 20, Jhonny Uchuari opened the score with a header. Three minutes later, Adrian Luna tied the game. But Walter Calderon signed the Ecuadorian classification at the minute 78 with a header that left no options to the goalkeeper Bava.

Deportivo Quito, meanwhile, went on to the next round after thrashing Bolivian Aurora 1-3. The game was played in Cochabamba and the goals were scored by Maximiliano Bevacqua (15 and 59m), while Pablo Olmedo scored for the locals. In the next phase, “Chullas” will go against the Tigre of Argentina.

Club Sport Emelec

 Emelec also classified to the knockout stages of the Copa Sudamericana after a goalless draw with Olimpia of Paraguay in the Capwell Stadium in Guayaquil.

The Electric Team (Emelec), won by 0-1 on Aug. 28 in Asuncion, and struggled to overcome the intense mark of Paraguayans. However, the Ecuadorians were able to keep the pace and consolidate its defense while seeking opportunities to score.

In the next phase, Emelec will face Universidad de Chile, current champion of the Copa Sudamericana. The Chilean team is now coached by the Argentinean Jorge Sampoli, former coach of Emelec, and who led the blue team to win the national subtitle in 2010.

(BG)