Millonarios vs Deportivo Lara - Game Notes

YOUTUBE. Argentine coach Miguel Ángel Russo had a dream return to the bench of Millonarios, who rolled over Venezuelan team Deportivo Lara on Tuesday with a comfortable 4-0 victory in the third round of Group 7 of the Copa Libertadores, with a hat-trick from Ayron Del Valle and a goal from winger Elíser Quiñones.

Russo returned to manage the team that won the Colombian league championship last December, after overcoming an illness that kept him away from football and had him hospitalized for about two months, first in Bogotá and then in Buenos Aires.

In an emotional day, where the more than 15,000 fans who arrived at El Campín stadium in Bogotá did not stop celebrating the return of the Argentine coach, the Colombians tried to take control of the game from the beginning against the Venezuelan side.

To do this, they looked for Christian Huérfano and Quiñones on the wings, who appeared as wingers and tried to cause damage behind the full-backs.

As the minutes went by, the difficulties to cross the halfway line grew for the team from Barquisimeto, closely watched from the stands by the Venezuelan coach, Rafael Dudamel.

The Colombian team Millonarios opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a collective play that started with a filtered pass by David Silva to full-back Jair Palacios, who entered the box from the right wing and delivered the ball to Del Valle, who scored his first goal in this edition of the Copa Libertadores with a deflected shot.

The goal provided a boost of confidence for the local striker, who got more involved with his teammates, unsettled the central defenders and created opportunities that confirmed the blue domination, an unstoppable force that only saw danger when players like Colombian Herlbert Soto and top scorer Jesús Hernández ventured into the opposition's territory.

However, the visiting hopes of https://peru.com/noticias-de-copa-libertadores-86 were dashed with a clearance from Uruguayan defender Matías de los Santos from Millonarios, where the ball fell into Del Valle's path in the opposition half, who saw goalkeeper Carlos Salazar off his line, took a shot with his right foot and scored one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament so far in the 35th minute.

In the second half, Deportivo Lara, led on the field by Colombian midfielder Carlos Sierra, tried to get closer to the Venezuelan goalkeeper Wuilker Faríñez with more desire than order, but Faríñez had little intervention in the match.

Millonarios sealed the game in the 67th minute with a powerful shot from Quiñones, which hit the crossbar and went into Salazar's goal.

Del Valle scored his third goal twelve minutes later on a counterattack led by youth player Juan Camilo Salazar, who came on in the second half, and the defense, already resigned, offered no resistance.

With a 4-0 lead, the blue club closed an unforgettable night that could mark a new path to follow in a season full of ups and downs without Russo on the bench.

Millonarios is temporarily leading Group G with four points, the same as Corinthians, while Independiente and Deportivo Lara, both with three points, are third and fourth, respectively.

Venezuelans and Colombians will meet again next Tuesday, when they face each other at the Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara stadium for the fourth round of the Copa Libertadores.

Millonarios vs Deportivo Lara - Match Details

4. Millonarios: Wuilker Faríñez; Jair Palacios, Matías de los Santos, Andrés Cadavid, Felipe Banguero; John Duque, Juan Guillermo Domínguez (m.71, Anier Figueroa), David Macalister Silva; Christian Huérfano (m.62, Juan Camilo Salazar); Ayron del Valle (m.80, Orles Aragón) and Elíser Quiñones. Coach: Miguel Ángel Russo.

0. Deportivo Lara: Carlos Salazar; Leonardo Aponte, Henri Pernía, David Mendoza, Daniel Carrillo; Ricardo Andreutti, Carlos Sierra (m.80, Anderson Cardozo); Oswaldo Chaurant (m.73, José Miguel Reyes), Herlbert Soto (m.65, Jesús González), Pedro Ramírez; and Jesús Hernández. Coach: Leonardo González.

Goals: 1-0, m.19: Ayron del Valle. 2-0, m.35: Ayron del Valle. 3-0, m.67: Elíser Quiñones. 4-0, m.78: Ayron del Valle.

Referee: Ecuadorian Carlos Orbe. Booked Andrés Cadavid and David Mendoza.

Incidents: match of the third round of Group G of the Copa Libertadores, played at El Campín stadium in Bogotá. EFE