Brazil's Atletico Mineiro Draws at Argentina's River Plate, Reaches Copa Libertadores Final

Guilherme Arana (L) and Deyverson celebrate their victory in the Copa Libertadores semifinals second leg match  between River Plate and Atletico Mineiro at the Mas Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 29 October 2024.  EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
Guilherme Arana (L) and Deyverson celebrate their victory in the Copa Libertadores semifinals second leg match between River Plate and Atletico Mineiro at the Mas Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 29 October 2024. EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
TT

Brazil's Atletico Mineiro Draws at Argentina's River Plate, Reaches Copa Libertadores Final

Guilherme Arana (L) and Deyverson celebrate their victory in the Copa Libertadores semifinals second leg match  between River Plate and Atletico Mineiro at the Mas Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 29 October 2024.  EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
Guilherme Arana (L) and Deyverson celebrate their victory in the Copa Libertadores semifinals second leg match between River Plate and Atletico Mineiro at the Mas Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 29 October 2024. EPA/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni

Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro drew 0-0 at Argentina’s River Plate on Tuesday and reached the final of the Copa Libertadores for the second time.
The team of veteran striker Hulk had beaten its rivals 3-0 in the first leg of the semifinal.
The festive atmosphere at the full Monumental de Nunez Stadium with more than 80,000 fans did not affect the Brazilian side, which had some of the clearest chances to score.
Atletico's rival in the decider will be decided on Wednesday, and it is very likely to be fellow Brazilian side Botafogo. The Rio de Janeiro-based team will play at Uruguay's Penarol after winning the first leg 5-0.
Brazilian teams have won the tournament for the past five years.
The final will be played on Nov. 30 at the same Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires.



Dortmund Loses Again with Early Exit from German Cup to Increase Pressure on Coach

(L-R) Dortmund's German midfielder #10 Julian Brandt, Dortmund's Austrian midfielder #20 Marcel Sabitzer and Dortmund's German midfielder #08 Felix Nmecha react after the German Cup (DFB Pokal) 2nd round football match between VfL Wolfsburg and BVB Borussia Dortmund, in Wolfsburg, northern Germany on October 29, 2024.  (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)
(L-R) Dortmund's German midfielder #10 Julian Brandt, Dortmund's Austrian midfielder #20 Marcel Sabitzer and Dortmund's German midfielder #08 Felix Nmecha react after the German Cup (DFB Pokal) 2nd round football match between VfL Wolfsburg and BVB Borussia Dortmund, in Wolfsburg, northern Germany on October 29, 2024. (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)
TT

Dortmund Loses Again with Early Exit from German Cup to Increase Pressure on Coach

(L-R) Dortmund's German midfielder #10 Julian Brandt, Dortmund's Austrian midfielder #20 Marcel Sabitzer and Dortmund's German midfielder #08 Felix Nmecha react after the German Cup (DFB Pokal) 2nd round football match between VfL Wolfsburg and BVB Borussia Dortmund, in Wolfsburg, northern Germany on October 29, 2024.  (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)
(L-R) Dortmund's German midfielder #10 Julian Brandt, Dortmund's Austrian midfielder #20 Marcel Sabitzer and Dortmund's German midfielder #08 Felix Nmecha react after the German Cup (DFB Pokal) 2nd round football match between VfL Wolfsburg and BVB Borussia Dortmund, in Wolfsburg, northern Germany on October 29, 2024. (Photo by Ronny HARTMANN / AFP)

Borussia Dortmund's losing run hit a new low with elimination from the German Cup in a 1-0 second-round loss to Wolfsburg on Tuesday to increase the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin.
Dortmund's injury-hit team struggled to generate scoring chances in a drab 90 minutes before Wolfsburg forward Jonas Wind settled the game in extra time with a 116th-minute goal, The Associated Press reported.
That consigned last season's Champions League runner-up Dortmund to a third straight loss in all competitions, a fifth defeat in a row in away games, and its earliest cup exit since the 2010-11 season.
“It's not about my personal situation, it's about moving the club forward, getting back to winning ways as soon as possible, winning our games,” the 36-year-old Sahin, who took over from Edin Terzic in the off-season, told broadcaster Sky. “Believe me, it's extremely bitter and disappointing for me too that we're in a situation like this right now, but we can't do anything other than keep going.”
The frustration was visible as goalkeeper Gregor Kobel hurled his gloves against the bench after the final whistle.
Even playing extra time was a problem for Dortmund, given its lengthy injury list.
Midfielders Pascal Gross and Emre Can had to fill gaps in the defense and Sahin, who was already under pressure after Dortmund's losses at Real Madrid and Augsburg last week, made only one substitution in the 90 minutes, bringing on American forward Cole Campbell for only his second senior Dortmund game.
Marcel Sabitzer made an extra-time cameo off the bench despite carrying a back injury, but his most notable contribution was losing the ball to Wind for the Danish striker to score Wolfsburg's goal.
Dortmund's busy schedule doesn't let up with a game against Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday and a visit from Austria's Sturm Graz in the Champions League next week.
Leverkusen and Leipzig progress Last season's German Cup winner Bayer Leverkusen cruised into the third round with a 3-0 win over second-tier Elversberg. Patrik Schick scored twice in the first nine minutes and Aleix Garcia converted a free kick for his first goal since joining Leverkusen from Girona for this season.
Leipzig beat St. Pauli 4-2 to avoid a repeat of last season's second-round exit when it was the two-time defending champion in the cup.
Leipzig had a 3-1 lead after 30 minutes but St. Pauli got back into the game with Eric Smith's lob in the 58th and was pushing to level the score. The 19-year-old Norway winger Antonio Nusa dribbled past two defenders and scored Leipzig's fourth to secure the win.
Stuttgart had to work hard to break down last season's cup finalist Kaiserslautern in a 2-1 win settled by Chris Führich's first goal of the season in the 75th.
Second-tier Cologne upset Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel 3-0, while Augsburg beat second-division Schalke 3-0 to reach the third round for the first time since 2018-19. The lowest-ranked team left in the competition, fourth-tier Kickers Offenbach, was beaten 2-0 by second-division Karlsruhe.
Ten-man Jahn Regensburg held on to beat Greuther Fürth 1-0 after goalscorer Rasim Bulic was sent off for a dangerous tackle.