Lanús Advances to Copa Sudamericana Final with 1-0 Victory Over Universidad de Chile
Lanús secured their place in the Copa Sudamericana final, defeating Universidad de Chile 1-0 on Thursday. The Argentine side advanced following a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the semifinal, winning the second leg thanks to a 62nd-minute goal from rodrigo Castillo – who also scored both goals in the initial match played in Santiago.
This victory sends Lanús, the 2013 Copa Sudamericana champions, into a decisive clash against Atlético Mineiro of Brazil, who eliminated Independiente del Valle of Ecuador in their own semifinal tie.
The final will be held on Saturday, November 22nd, in Asunción. The tournament winner will earn a spot in the group stage of the 2026 Copa Libertadores and a prize of $6.5 million, while the runner-up will receive $2 million.
The match, played at the Ciudad de Lanús stadium, took place amidst heightened security following recent fan violence in Buenos Aires involving Chilean and Argentine supporters at an Independiente match, resulting in over 20 injuries and more than 100 arrests. As a outcome, Independiente was expelled from the tournament, and both clubs were sanctioned with seven continental matches to be played behind closed doors for their fans, both at home and away. the first leg was played without spectators, and the return leg featured onyl Lanús supporters. Argentine authorities implemented a important security operation to prevent Chilean fans from traveling to the country and approaching the stadium.
During the match, Lanús initially celebrated a goal by Marcelino Moreno in the 12th minute, but it was disallowed after a video review revealed an offside position. Moreno later played a key role in the winning play, initiating a quick counterattack from the right wing that lead to castillo dribbling past the goalkeeper and scoring into an empty net.
Universidad de Chile also had a goal overturned in the 52nd minute when Felipe Salomoni found the net,but the goal was invalidated due to Lucas Di Yorio being in an offside position at the start of the play.
The match concluded with a post-game brawl between players from both teams, resulting in the expulsion of Universidad de Chile defender Matías Zaldivia.
