Copa Libertadores round-up

No end in sight for Brazilian dominance of South America’s premier club competition as group stage concludes

- TIM VICKERY

For three of South America’s ten nations the Copa Libertadores ended at the group stage – with barely a surprise.

Sporting Cristal came close to a place in the last 16 and Alianza Lima were more competitive than for many years. Even so, for the tenth consecutive campaign no side from Peru made it through to the knockout phase, and there is no Venezuelan presence for the seventh successive year. And for the fourth time in five, no team from Chile has made the cut. Both Chile and Colombia have underachieved in recent times, and the final slot in the knockout phase fell between the former’s ColoColo and the latter’s Deportivo Pereira. In front of a big crowd in Santiago, tournament debutants Pereira held on for the draw they needed, and join Atletico Nacional in the last 16, making this the best group phase for Colombia since 2015.

Colo-Colo were not the only former champions to fall in the group stage. The biggest disappointments were Corinthians of Sao Paulo, the largest team from the largest city in the continent. Corinthians have got themselves in such a mess that they were eliminated with a game still to go.