It had been many years, perhaps since before the pandemic, that Millonarios had not left their field whistled by their own fans. The pain was felt in the stands: the team stayed alive in the Copa Libertadores with a partial victory against Palestino and everything collapsed in added time.
A goal by Matías Marabel, in the 90+2 minute, gave Palestino the tie in El Campín around midnight on Tuesday and sealed the blue elimination from the Copa Libertadores.
Millonarios failed miserably in its return to the group stage of the Copa Libertadores and equals its worst participation since the tournament is played with groups of four teams: it also finished last, with three points, in 2013, although at least that time it won a match, 2-1 to San José de Oruro.
The frustration of Millonarios fans over the elimination of the Copa Libertadores.
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Tuesday was more of the same. First, a lack of effectiveness that already seems chronic. Alberto Gamero’s team is the one that wasted the most scoring opportunities in the current edition of the Cup. With those that failed against Palestino, it reached 16. Once again, at the press conference, the team members made the mea culpa.
Millonarios ended up appealing to their third option as a forward, the young Juan Esteban Carvajal, who, in the middle of everything, responded: he scored the goal that put Millonarios back in the race. But others more experienced, like Silva himself or Juan Carlos Pereira, missed some very, very clear ones.
Gamero has two points left. The first, the issue of injuries, which already exceeds the limits of normality: there have been 25 cases, many of them muscular, so far this season. You have to see how much it has affected the work of the physical preparation and the medical department.
Alberto Gamero
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The other complaint against Gamero, from the stands, was the way he finished the game: he put together a defense of five, put four players in front of them and Luis Paredes as the only attacker.
Also, two of those who entered. Jorge Arias and Danovis Banguero came without a competitive rhythm, especially the first, who had not played for a month and a half. He was injured on March 27, in the classic against Santa Fe. Palestino came on him. And although the story could have been different if Pereira made it 2-0 in the 90th minute, the idea did not work out.
“It was not an order from the bank to back out. As Palestino was rallying, we retreated to be in good standing. We wanted to defend the advantage because we won the last game 1-0,” Silva explained.
The visit to Brazil will only be to comply with the schedule and, hopefully, to avoid being exposed to a defeat from which Millos would have difficulty recovering. Now, the focus is on trying to win the League again, with a team that remains decimated: forwards Leonardo Castro and Santiago Giordana will hardly make it to Sunday’s game against Bucaramanga, on the third date of the home runs.
The Fifth Date of the group stage of the Copa Conmebol Libertadores is played at the El Campín stadium, Millonarios vs Palestino ended the match 1-1.
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“Healing the pain felt today is not easy. It hits us all. We hope to fight and fight for the League and why not, look for a new participation in the Cup,” Mackalister insisted. The fast track would be to become champion this semester, before a mess comes.
José Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
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