The squad led by Damián Muñoz faces a must-win scenario in Paraguay after a bitter defeat at the Monumental on opening night.
United Curico advances to challenge Cerro Porteno, seeking a path to the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2023 group stage in a tightly contested tie.
In the first leg, Muñoz’s side could not claim the advantage and fell 0-1 at home, a painful strike by the captain John Patino giving Facundo Sava’s team the edge in the aggregate. The Albirroja now has to respond in Paraguay to push the series toward the next round.
It’s worth noting that the tortero team earned its berth in the continental competition after a landmark campaign in 2022, finishing third in the national championship and marking the club’s first appearance in the continent’s premier tournament in its 50-year history. Meanwhile, the Cyclone had the most points in the Final Tournament aggregate, making 45 appearances and reaching the knockout stage in the prior edition.
Historically, the Barrio Obrero club, boasting 34 national titles, achieved its best runs in the semifinals in 1973, 1978, 1993, 1998, 1999, and 2011. The winner of this tie would move on to meet the winner of the clash between Brazil and Fortaleza Deportivo Maldonado of Uruguay, who left the tie unfinished after a 0-0 draw on the neutral ground at Domingo Burgueño Miguel.
Background to the first leg includes:
- Cerro Porteño snapped a five-game winless stretch away from home in CONMEBOL Libertadores play (2 draws, 3 losses). Their last away win, 1-0, was against Deportivo La Guaira in 2021.
- It marked Cerro Porteño’s first knockout-match victory in the tournament after six straight losses. The previous win, also 1-0, came against Universitario de Perú in the 2020 qualifying round.
- After 33 games in the competition, Juan Patiño scored his first Libertadores goal for Cerro Porteño. He had netted twice in the league, including a 2016 match with Guaraní against Independiente del Valle.
The rematch between Ciclón and Albirrojo will be shown on Fox Sports 1, with channel assignments depending on the cable operator:
- VCR: 166 (SD) – 860 (HD)
- DTV: 604 (SD) – 1604 (SD)
- ENTEL: 241 (HD)
- BRIGHT: 178 (SD) – 478 (HD)
- GTD/TELSUR: 70 (SD) – 846 (HD)
- MOVISTAR: 485 (SD) – 889 (HD)
- YOU SEE: 518 (SD)
- ZAP: 100 (HD)
Online fans can stream via Star Plus, which offers monthly and annual subscriptions. Subscriptions are available at starplus.com and support viewing on TVs, computers, mobile devices, tablets, and gaming consoles.
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