Fortaleza and Liga de Quito faced each other at the Domingo Burgeño Miguel de Maldonado Uruguay stadium, where both experienced a game at the highest level to compete for that precious title of the Copa Sudamericana 2023.
After a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time, the decision went to penalties where Alexander Domínguez was the figure by stopping two charges that ended up giving the Ecuadorians the title for the second time in their history.
As expected, the first minutes were going to be about study and seeing what each one proposed on the field and the game ended up being a bit frictional in the middle of the field, where fouls were the protagonists.
Given the few scoring options and having had a fairly even first half, both teams decided to surprise in the complement, both managing to end with zero in their goals and raising the level a little more in the final in Uruguayan territory.
The team that hit the scoreboard first was Fortaleza, who managed to score the first option in the 45th minute of the complement and the Argentine Juan Lucero, who found a good position after receiving a precise pass inside the area, and beat goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez, who did not avoid the shot that went into the corner.
However, Liga de Quito was not far behind and brought out its status as a two-time international champion, achieving the tie in the 56th minute through Argentine Lisandro Alzugaray, who surprised everyone with a great goal because he hit the post. 1-1 and the final was open for anyone.
As the minutes passed, Fortaleza lowered its pace of play and looked a little tired, while Liga de Quito took advantage of that, which little by little reached the rival goal, but did not find the second goal that would allow it to stay close to the goal. qualification.
Despite this, Fortaleza returned to the attack and seemed to take on a new lease of life, managing to reach the LDU goal with considerable danger, but the Ecuadorian defense was well placed to clear it.
In the end, the ninety minutes were not enough and with the 1-1 tie, everything was extended for 30 more minutes, but it was not of much use for both teams, who dedicated themselves to saving their strength for the penalty shootout, although Paolo Guerrero He had it close to the final whistle, but couldn’t score.
In the penalty shootout, the shootout did not start well for Liga de Quito, as its star, the Peruvian Paolo Guerrero, missed his shot after Joao Ricardo saved it. That meant that Fortaleza’s first shot ended in a goal from Thiago Galhardo.
Although the penalty shootout was equal at some point, in the last charge for LDU, Alexander Alvarado failed and Fortaleza had with Guilherme Augusto the possibility for the Brazilians to lift the title, but goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez had other plans and ended up saving two decisive shots to crown the Ecuadorians for the second time in the South American Championship. 4-3 in the definition and champions.