South America review: Libertadores chaos as domestic leagues wind down

The Copa Libertadores final was postponed, but there was plenty of domestic soccer action across South America over the weekend. Here are the highlights.

Over the weekend, Boca Juniors headed north from La Boca to the Belgrano district in Buenos Aires on Saturday afternoon. Los Xeneizes were set to play rival River Plate at El Monumental in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final, needing to win on the road after River notched a 2-2 draw at La Bombonera a fortnight earlier.

But the match never took place on Saturday, after the Boca team bus was attacked as it neared El Monumental. Turning down Avenida Monroe, a popular gathering place for River supporters, the Boca bus was pelted with bottles, rocks and other projectiles by the throngs crowded around the bus. Several windows were broken on the bus, and team captain Pablo Perez was taken to the hospital after shards of glass cut his eye.

Escort vehicles could do little to stem the press around the bus, and eventually the police launched tear gas to disperse the crowd. But the gas merely seeped through the broken windows on the bus, impacting the very individuals the police were trying to assist. The tear gas only exacerbated the situation, as players who were not struck by broken glass were left retching from the toxins.

Though they were in no condition to play, Boca star Carlos Tevez reported to FOX that CONMEBOL was forcing the match go on. CONMEBOL reportedly threatened to deal Boca Juniors a five-year ban from continental competition if they refused to play the final. But pressure from both clubs eventually led the confederation to delay the start and then postpone the match until Sunday.

But a resumption of fan violence on Sunday before the rescheduled start forced an indefinite postponement. While we do not yet know when or where the second leg will finally be held between the two sides, club and confederation officials are due to meet on Tuesday to hammer out a plan for moving forward.

This is the ugly side of South American soccer, where fan violence has long been a part of the history. Especially in Argentina, where away supporters have not been allowed to attend matches since 2013, intermittent issues with fan-induced postponements and forfeitures are part of the opportunity costs of seeing the biggest rivals play one another.

While we missed out on the chance to see Boca Juniors and River Plate battle for the title of best team in South America, there was plenty of action across the rest of the continent as Clausura seasons wind down, some leagues go through playoffs and others complete a full season of play. Several champions were crowned, so let’s dive in to look at the biggest stories from soccer action across South America this weekend.

Late goal at Vasco da Gama wins Palmeiras Serie A title in Brazil

With each team playing their penultimate matches of the 2018 Serie A season over the weekend, it looked for a time like Flamengo would stay alive with a chance to steal the title on the final matchday. Everton Ribeiro scored a brace for Flamengo to secure a 2-0 victory on the road at Cruzeiro, scoring in the eighth minute and then again in the 52nd minute to earn three points for the visitors.

At the same time, Palmeiras were being held to a scoreless draw in Rio de Janeiro against Vasco da Gama. After midweek games, only Flamengo still had a shot of catching the leaders in the Serie A table. Internacional fell against Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday, dropping out of the race in the process as they fell nine points behind the Verdao with two matches left to play. That cut down the competition to a two-horse race.

Entering the penultimate matchday, Flamengo found themselves five points behind Palmeiras at the top of the table. A win by the Carioca side coupled with a draw by the Paulistas would bring the suspense into the final matchday at the beginning of December.

But a 72nd-minute goal by Deyverson gave Palmeiras a 1-0 lead at Vasco da Gama. Holding on to the lead through the final whistle, Palmeiras ended up sealing up the Serie A crown with one match left to play. For the new champions, next weekend’s match at home against Vitoria on Sunday affords Palmeiras a chance to celebrate the title in front of their home supporters at Allianz Parque in Sao Paulo.

Independiente Medellin, Junior F.C. reach Clausura final in Colombia

Colombia utilizes an eight-team playoff at the end of both the Apertura and Clausura halves of the season. In the Apertura, Deportes Tolima won the title on spot kicks against Atletico Nacional after taking down Independiente Medellin in the semifinals. With each side winning 1-0 at home, Independiente and Tolima were forced to go to extra time and then kicks. Deportes Tolima went through 5-3, and then conquered Atletico Nacional in another shootout.

Tolima and Independiente met again in the semifinals of the Clausura playoffs. This time, Independiente left nothing to chance. After a 2-2 draw in Medellin on November 21, they met again four days later in Ibague. Tolima won the return match at home 2-0 to book their ticket to the Clausura finals.

In the other semifinal series, Junior F.C. brought a 3-2 advantage from the first leg on the road against Rionegro Aguilas into their return match in Barranquilla on Sunday. James Sanchez gave Junior a 1-0 advantage in the 19th minute, putting the hosts up two goals on aggregate. Rionegro managed to pull back a goal in the 47th minute thanks to Daniel Munoz, but they were unable to pull back another goal to level the series on aggregate.

The first leg of the two-leg Clausura takes place in Barranquilla on Sunday, Dec. 2, with the return leg held in Medellin on the following Saturday. Independiente’s last title came in the 2015 Apertura tournament, when they beat Junior in the final. Junior last claimed a domestic title in 2011, when they took the Clausura over Once Caldas.

Melgar hold on for Clausura title in Peru ahead of Copa Movistar playoff

On Sunday afternoon in Lima, Melgar fell behind 1-0 against San Martin de Porres on a 13th-minute goal by Koffi Sebastien Edgard Dakoi. A loss by Melgar would allow Alianza Lima to pull one point ahead of the league leaders with a win later in the day. But Joao Villamarín scored a late equalizer in the 87th minute to secure a critical point.

Even the draw looked like it could prove costly. Melgar ended the match three points ahead of Alianza Lima and only a single goal ahead in goal differential. If Alianza won by two goals, they would steal away the title at the final hurdle. But Alianza proved unable to pull through for a win against Clausura cellar dweller Binacional.

Playing on the road at Estadio 25 de Noviembre in Moquegua, Alianza went ahead in the 23rd minute on a Janio Posito goal. Carlos Caraza leveled the match for Binacional four minutes later, and the match remained level at 1-1 at halftime. Coming out of the break, Binacional’s Victor Ferreira scored the go-ahead goal in the 54th minute. The hosts got an insurance goal from Andy Paredes in the 78th minute, and Alianza managed to pull back only one in the final dozen minutes.

Though they lost the match on Sunday, Alianza Lima still made it into the three-team finals for the Copa Movistar title to cap the 2018 Peruvian season. Alianza and Melgar meet in a two-leg semifinal for the right to play Sporting Cristal, the Apertura winner and team with the highest combined point total between the two seasons. The first leg will be hosted by Alianza in Lima on Dec. 2, with the return leg taking place four days later in Arequipa.

Title races still alive in Chile, Paraguay

Unlike the situation in Brazil, there will be suspense to close out the year in Chile after both Universidad Catolica and Universidad de Concepcion both won on Sunday. Heading into the final matchday on Dec. 2, the two teams are separated by three points and a single goal in differential.

While Catolica needs only to draw against Deportes Temuco, a loss against the 15th best team in the 16-team league would open the door for Universidad de Concepcion to swoop in and steal away the crown at the last hurdle. If Catolica loses by even just one goal, a victory by Universidad de Concepcion would flip the two teams in the final table as Catolica would fall behind on goal differential.

In Paraguay, meanwhile, Olimpia is on the verge of sealing up the Clausura title after already claiming the Apertura earlier in 2018. The league leaders need only two more points from their final three matches to ensure they stay ahead of rival Cerro Porteno in the final table.

With their final three matches of the season coming against Guaraní in the oldest derby in Paraguay, followed by a home match against Sol de América and an away finale against 3 de Febrero, getting at least a pair of draws is highly likely.

Cerro Porteno, meanwhile, has to win all three of their final matches against Deportivo Santani, Deportivo Capiata, and a home finale versus Nacional to have a shot at the crown. And, given Olimpia’s heavy advantage in goal differential, Cerro Porteno also probably needs Olimpia to lose all three of their final matches to steal away the Clausura. Even a single point likely wins Olimpia the title in the end barring huge victories by the current runner-up.