Vélez defeats Fortaleza in a downpour and advances

Vélez Sarsfield awaits Racing (ARG) or Peñarol (URU) in the Libertadores quarterfinals. Argentinians and Uruguayans will face each other today at 9:30 PM in Avellaneda. Peñarol won the first leg 1-0.
The dates and times for the quarterfinals will be announced by Conmebol.
Fortaleza returns to the field next Sunday. At 6:30 PM (Brasília time), Leão do Pici hosts Mirassol for the 21st round of the Brasileirão.
“Sleeping shrimp (or lion), the wave (or Vélez, in this case) takes away.” Fortaleza sank in a sea of errors in the cold and rainy José Amalfitani. A missed marking in the air and a wrong pass by Deyverson practically sealed their elimination in the first half. The improvement in the second half was not enough.
The elimination ends the dream of an unprecedented achievement for Leão do Pici. The team dreamed of reaching the Libertadores quarterfinals for the first time in history. The 2025 campaign matched their best performance in the competition in 2022 when they were eliminated by Argentine side Estudiantes in the round of 16.