Oscar had given the home side the lead with a beautiful strike after two minutes, but two goals in the first 300 seconds after half time from Alejandro Martinuccio and Juan Manuel Olivera earned the visitors a surprise victory.
With the build-up to the game marked with strong clashes between Peñarol fans and the Porto Alegre military police the atmosphere was at fever pitch in the Beira Rio as the two teams took the field. The Manya knew after a 1-1 draw in Montevideo they would have to find the net, and their chances took a further hit when Inter took the lead with a stunning goal in the opening minutes.
Teenage star Oscar showed his coach Falcao what he was missing in the first leg, by smashing home in the first minute. The midfielder played a lovely one-two with Leandro Damiao to find space 25m out and hit hard and true, giving Sebastian Sosa no chance as the ball bulged in the back of the net. The goal galvanised the Brazilians, who spent the opening exchanges firmly on the front foot.
The Uruguayans had a scare when Andres D’Alessandro’s goal was rightly ruled out for a narrow offside, but rallied and started to look more dangerous going forward. Nicolas Freitas had the best chance of the half for the away team with a header across the goal, but it eluded Renan’s far post and Inter went into the break with the upper hand.
Incredibly though history was to repeat itself, but in favour of the Carboneros. Barely 20 seconds into the second period Alejandro Martinuccio surged forward and smashed the ball past Renan, sending the sizeable visiting support into raptures and levelling the tie. The gold and black clad fans were in full voice, and were fit to explode when the second entered just four minutes later.
Suspended for the first match, Juan Manuel Olivera nodded in a towering header to beat Renan once more and put his team in a commanding lead. From winning the tie Inter now needed two goals to stay in the competition, and Penarol were playing with limitless confidence.
The Uruguayans did not sit back, and should have had the game won with half an hour remaining. The shaky Renan palmed a cross right into the path of Freitas, but the midfielder could not keep his volley down and with an anguished expression watched his shot balloon harmlessly over the bar. Inter began to see their desperate situation and pushed forward, but in turn were leaving large spaces unattended at the back.
The expected backlash from the Colorado was not coming however, and Peñarol was comfortably on top. D’Alessandro for one though was not prepared to accept defeat: the little Argentine wizard dribbled his way to the byline and put in the centre, but despite having three red shirts in the area the defence were able to scramble away.
Bolatti was the next man to give the Uruguayans a scare, with a stinging long-range attempt that flew just wide of Sosa’s left-hand post. Time was running out for the home team though, and Rafael Sobis was introduced to give them more attacking threat in front of a determined Manya backline.
The last five minutes saw an absolute onslaught on the Manya goal, but with a combination of luck and flawless keeping from Sosa, Peñarol withstood the pressure and the away end exploded with joy on hearing the final whistle. The team move on to the last eight, with a clash against Universidad Catolica or Inter’s biggest rivals Gremio on the cards.
Originally posted here:
Internacional 1-2 Penarol (2-3 agg.)