Matheus Pereira decides the game in Ecuador for the team managed by the Portuguese Artur Jorge.
Cruzeiro marked their return to the Libertadores Cup, after a seven-year hiatus, with a victory in Ecuador against Barcelona (1-0), in a game decided by former Sporting player, Matheus Pereira.
The only goal of the match came at the start of the second half, following a perfect header from the Raposa striker in response to an excellent cross from Fagner.
In the end, Portuguese coach Artur Jorge, who manages Cruzeiro, was happy with the result, but also with the team’s performance, coming off a heavy defeat against São Paulo in the Brazilian Championship .
“The team performed very well, meeting the demands of the competition. This is an extremely difficult tournament, with six games in the group stage, all of them very challenging. We are probably in one of the most complicated groups in the Libertadores Cup, and the team demonstrated character and personality,” said the coach in the press conference following the match.
Also in the early hours of this morning, Boca Juniors won in Chile against Universidad Católica (2-1), while Independiente Rivadavia and Liga de Quito beat Bolívar and Always Ready, respectively, by 1-0. The Deportivo La Guaira-Fluminense and Tolima-Universitario matches ended in a goalless draw.
