Buenos Aires, April 14 (NA) – Estudiantes defeated Cusco of Peru 2-1 in a match in which it needed to play with a man advantage to demonstrate superiority. The match, held tonight at the UNO Jorge Luis Hirschi stadium, was for the second date of Group A of the 2026 Copa Libertadores. According to the Argentine News Agency, for the home team, the forwards Facundo Farías and Tiago Palacios scored in the 27th minute of the first half and the 2nd of the second, while for the visiting team, the winger Lucas Colitto had scored the equalizing goal when the first half was 30 minutes in. Furthermore, the visiting team played with one less man from the fifth minute of the second half due to the double booking of the aforementioned Colitto. With the win, the 'Pincha' took first place in Group A with four points, while the team coached by Argentine Alejandro Orfila is last, without adding points. In the next match, Alexander Medina's team will host the defending champion of the Libertadores, Brazil's Flamengo, on Wednesday, April 29, starting at 9:30 PM, while the Peruvian team will visit Colombia's Deportivo Independiente Medellín on Thursday, April 30 at 11:00 PM. The first arrival of the match was by the home team, in the first minute, with a cross from the left that reached the far post for the header of the forward Guido Carrillo, which went near the right post of the goalkeeper Pedro Díaz. The 'Pincha' again generated danger in the ninth minute of the first half, with a shot from outside the area by the midfielder Ezequiel Piovi that came out strong but imprecise, a few centimeters from the crossbar. Just a minute later, Cetré took a cross shot from the left side of the area, deflected after a great stretch by Pedro Díaz. The Peruvian team had its first dangerous chance in the 26th minute of the first half, with a shot from the Argentine midfielder Gabriel Carabajal from the center circle that tried to surprise the goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, although the Uruguayan was able to run back and stop the ball a few meters from the goal line. Estudiantes opened the scoring in the 27th minute, when goalkeeper Pedro Díaz came out to get a long pass to the far post but collided with his teammate Aldair Fuentes, causing him to lose the ball and serve it to Facundo Farías, who scored into the open goal. Just three minutes later, Argentine winger Lucas Colitto dribbled on the right side of the area, was one-on-one with Muslera and beat him with a low right-footed shot, to make it 1-1. In the 34th minute, a first-time shot from the edge of the area by Cetré went high, and although it took effect, it fell behind the crossbar. Six minutes later, a low cross from the right enabled Carabajal to make a run to the near post, who finished with his tibia and ended up diverting his shot over the crossbar. In the second minute of the second half, winger Tiago Palacios picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and took a left-footed shot with effect to the far post, which also deflected off a rival to end up going in tightly through the right post of Díaz. The visiting team was left with a man less in the fifth minute of the second half, after a foul from behind by Colitto on midfielder Mikel Amondarain that earned him a second yellow card. In the 17th minute, a low, first-time shot from outside the area by midfielder Gabriel Neves hit the left post of the Peruvian team's goalkeeper. In the 25th minute of the second half, Tiago Palacios received on the right side, closed in and took a shot looking for the goalkeeper's right angle, although he missed by a few centimeters. In the 40th minute, in a final part of the match in which the Peruvian team could generate some dangerous chances, midfielder José Ali received on the left side of the area and could shoot, although he took an excessively high shot. Match summary: Copa Libertadores 2026. Group A. Matchday 2. Estudiantes 2 - 1 Cusco (Peru). Stadium: UNO Jorge Luis Hirschi. Referee: Juan Cabero (Chile). VAR: Rodrigo Carvajal (Chile). Estudiantes: Fernando Muslera; Eric Meza, Leandro González Pirez, Tomás Palacios, Gastón Benedetti; Mikel Amondarain, Ezequiel Piovi; Tiago Palacios, Facundo Farías, Edwin Cetré; Guido Carrillo.
