Supersub Soares stars in Gremio win
abu dhabi — Supersub Everton Soares scored an extra-time winner as debutants Gremio prevailed over a valiant CF Pachuca to secure a berth in the final of the Fifa Club World Cup at the Hazza bin Zayed stadium in Al Ain on Tuesday night.
Mexican side Pachuca, playing their second consecutive 120-minute encounter, gave everything but came up short against a Brazilian side which hunted in packs.
It was a fight for supremacy between the Conmebol Copa Libertadores Champions and the Concacaf Champions League winners.
There were many close calls as the match entered extra-time. And in the 95 minute the goal came as Gremio scored through a thunderbolt from Soares. The winger created space through the left flank to drill the ball into the top right corner past Perez.
Adding to Pachuca’s woes, Guzman collected a second yellow card as the Mexicans ended on the losing side.
At the post-match press conference, Portaluppi, also known as Gaucho, said the win was a hardfought one but acknowledged the fact that the team has a long way to go. “It was a very difficult game, especially in the first half as my players were anxious. In the second half, we applied more pressure through introduction of another striker. Important thing is that we managed to achieve our goal to reach the final. We faced a tough opponent but we can play a lot better than this. We will do our best to get the title,” Portaluppi said.
Pachuca coach Diego Alonso said the team tried to get a result in normal time as longer the players were on the field, the harder it was for them to grind out a positive result.
“It was a balanced but difficult match. We had a great opportunity to make history.
“These players know how to compete but we couldn’t fulfil our dream. We didn’t commit any mistakes and had a near-perfect match. They were tired after a previous 120-minute match (against Wydad).
“Gremio scored through individual talent. We had the match under control until that moment. It was difficult to recover from a late goal,” the coach said.
Meanwhile, man of the match Soares said the result gave a big boost to the debutants.
“We knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy game and that we were going to be nervous on our debut. We were able to keep a lid on that and play well.”
Elaborating on his stunning goal, he just said: “I didn’t really plan it. The ball came to me and I stuck my chest out to try and bring it under control.”
Both teams will be in action this Saturday. While Gremio will fight for the title, Pachuca will hope to grab a third-place spot at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com