03/05/2023

The DIM achieved its first victory in the Copa Libertadores 2023. In a game that was rough in the first fifteen minutes because there were two own goals (one from each team), the red box beat Metropolitanos de Venezuela 4-2 in a valid duel for the third date of zone B of the group stage of “La Gloria Eterna”.

The 18,051 spectators who arrived at the Atanasio Girardot –despite the fact that the game was played at a difficult time– witnessed the display of good football by the midfielder Andrés Ricaurte, who was the most outstanding player in the red box, in the 77 minutes he was on court.

From the “magical” left foot of “10”, who recently recovered from knee surgery, came the center that ended in the first goal of the game: an own goal that Ecuadorian central defender Carlos Gruezo scored with a header when they were barely two minutes of play

The Mighty footballers celebrated like crazy. They knew that winning this duel was important, not only to regain confidence following the defeat in the classic paisa on the weekend; also to continue with clear options to qualify for the knockout stages of the Libertadores.

Although at minute 15 the reds had a setback following a childish error by left-back Daniel Londoño: in a play inside the area, in which he had no rivals nearby, he tried to head the ball to goalkeeper Luis Erney Vásquez, but ended up hanging it and put the partial tie for the Venezuelans.

However, ten minutes later, at 25 minutes, the magic of Ricaurte appeared once more, who placed a precise cross from a corner kick for Andrés Cadavid to score with a header and put DIM back on the scoreboard. This was the 100th goal of the People’s Team in the continental tournament.

That score marked a breaking point in the match. After that, the Dean had control of the ball and began to generate dangerous plays on the Venezuelan goal. Many of them were wasted by DIM attackers.

But others, like the one starred in the 34th minute by Andrés Ibargüen and Miguel Monsalve –who was called up to play in the U-20 World Cup with the Colombian National Team– the young midfielder scored the third goal for the reds.

With the 3-1 you might think that it was enough, that everything was finished. But not. Missing another display of the magician. When the first half was coming down, the Antioquia midfielder caught a volley ball, without letting it fall to the ground, and scored a cross that, following making a perfect curve, ended up on the head of Luciano Pons, for DIM’s fourth goal .

In the second half the reds were in control, but they were not effective in front of the goal. In addition, in minute 90+3 John Marchán scored for the Venezuelans and made it 4-2. However, the Paisa team achieved its first victory in this Libertadores, with which it reached four points and was only one behind Internacional de Brasil, which occupies the second box of Group B.

“It bothered us that they marked us in the last minutes, but I think we can leave calm and happy for the victory, for adding three points in a group that will surely be very tight and the next date will be vital for us,” said the midfielder Andrés Ricaurte in statements following the end of the game.

Medellín’s next match in the Copa Libertadores will be on May 23, when they host Nacional from Uruguay, who leads the group, at the Atanasio Girardot. The duel is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.

Relive here the minute by minute of this commitment:

Minutes 93+3: The commitment ends with a 4-2 victory for DIM.