[LIBERTADORES CUP] Thanks to a pair of goals by Wellington, Cruzeiro tied fellow Brazilian club Gremio, 2-2, in their semifinal second leg to advance to the final 5-3 on aggregate. Cruzeiro will face Argentina’s Estudiantes in final.
Cruzeiro has won the Libertadores Cup twice, in 1976 and 1997. It played Estudiantes in the group stage of this year’s competition, winning 3-0 at home and losing 4-0 away.
Gremio came out strong in hopes of coming back from the 3-1 home leg deficit but its Argentine frontline pair of Maxi Lopez and German Herrera missed early chances. Wellington opened the scoring the 35th minute by volleying home a Kleber cross, and added another with a diving header two minutes later.
Goals by Rever (55th minute) and midfielder Souza (75th) gave Gremio hope, but it played a man down for the last 30 minutes because Adilson was red-cared for a violent foul on Kleber.
Estudiantes had beaten Uruguay’s Nacional 2-1 in Montevideo on Wednesday for a 3-1 aggregate victory to reach its fifth final, but first since 1971.