South America review: Palmeiras, Cerro Porteno take over leads

Palmeiras consolidated their lead in Brazil’s Serie A. Cerro Porteno passed Olimpia in Paraguay. Keep reading for this week’s South America soccer review.

Clubs got back to action around South America this week, as weather conditions allowed every domestic league on the continent to get in a matchday. As leagues get deeper into their seasons, we’re seeing the battle for the top of the table get tight in several places. We even have new leaders taking over and consolidating position in their respective leagues.

That theme highlights this week’s South America soccer review. Let’s look at a couple of clubs that have overtaken previous leaders to claim the top spot at the moment.

Cerro Porteno jump ahead of Olimpia in Paraguay

Entering the weekend, Olimpia were a point ahead of Cerro Porteno in the Primera table in Paraguay. Cerro Porteno played on Saturday afternoon, downing Guarani 1-0 on Juan Escobar’s 53rd-minute goal to claim all three points. That moved them onto 30 points and put the pressure on Olimpia, who needed to win to stay atop the table.

But Olimpia could only pull off a 2-2 draw against General Diaz, twice equalizing after falling behind the visitors. Jorge Ortega had the brace for Olimpia, scoring four minutes after Julio Doldan near the end of the first half and then again five minute into second-half stoppage time to preserve the draw.

Unfortunately for Olimpia, that allowed Cerro Porteno to leapfrog them into the top spot of the Primera table. With nine matches remaining in the Clausura schedule for both sides, there is still plenty of time to see the lead shift back. They play one another on November 4, in a match that could ultimately decide which team wins the Clausura this year.

Palmeiras go three points clear of Internacional in Brazil

For most of the past few months, Sao Paulo have sat at the top the Serie A standings in Brazil. The Tricolor, though, have watched their lead evaporate as first Internacional and then Palmeiras overtook them. Now Flamengo have also gotten in on the act, pushing Sao Paulo down to fourth in the table.

The former leaders squared off against new leaders Palmeiras on Saturday, with the winner poised to jump back to the top of the table. Palmeiras gave Sao Paulo no chance to compete, as the visitors consolidated their position atop the Brazilian standings. Gustavo Gomez scored in the 34th minute, Deyverson added an insurance goal three minutes later and despite having 61 percent of the possession Sao Paulo could muster only one shot on goal all day.

A day earlier, Internacional fell 2-1 at Sport Recife and Flamengo routed Corinthians 3-0. The results put Palmeiras in position to consolidate a three-point lead at the top of the table. With 10 matches left in the Serie A season, Palmeiras are catching fire at just the right time.

Jorge Wilstermann pulls within one point of lead in Bolivia

The race is also tightening up for the lead in Bolivia, where The Strongest fell 3-1 to CD San Jose on Sunday afternoon. The leaders entered the weekend two points ahead of Royal Pari, and four points ahead of Jorge Wilstermann.

Royal Pari failed to take advantage of the loss by The Strongest. Despite going down to 10 men in the 57th minute after Luis Alberto Gutierrez received a red card, home side Bolivar managed to hold on and claim all three points in a 12-goal thriller. Royal Pari scored five goals yet still fell in the goal-heavy 7-5 finish.

Jorge Wilstermann had no such slip-ups on Sunday. On the road against Blooming, the visitors got goals from Jorge Gaucho, Ricardo Pedriel, and Antonio Melgar Vargas to claim all three points in emphatic fashion. With the win, Jorge Wilstermann vaulted ahead of Royal Pari and within one point of The Strongest.

Jorge Wilstermann hosts The Strongest on Oct. 24. With only a dozen matchdays left to go in Bolivia this year, that could prove the decisive contest that swings the title one way or another.