🏆 Fluminense through on pens; Atlético Mineiro and Colo-Colo move on | OneFootball

A few Copa Libertadores Round of 16 matchups concluded on Tuesday with six sides playing out their second-leg fixtures.

Here is what went down.

Atlético Mineiro 1-0 San Lorenzo

Scorers: Battaglia 65′

A late Rodrigo Battaglia goal saw Atlético Mineiro scrape past San Lorenzo and earn a gritty win in the round-of-16.

It was a rocking atmosphere inside the MRV, but the product on the pitch was far more cagey than the thousands of Atlético Mineiro that filled the terraces, though the deadlock was nearly broken in the dying minutes of the opening half when Iván Leguizamón rang a rasping long-range shot off of the crossbar.

San Lorenzo began to ramp up the pressure in the second-half, creating a flurry of chances, but the visitors from Argentina continually fluffed their lines in front of goal.

Leandro Romagnoli’s side were punished for their lack of ruthlessness just past the hour mark when Rodrigo Battaglia popped up from defense to head home the opener on the night, and more importantly give Atlético Mineiro the lead on aggregate.

Junior 1-2 Colo-Colo

Scorers: Bacca 45+1′ ; Cepeda 43′, Falcón 74′

Colo-Colo replicated their first-leg effort, easing past Junior in Barranquilla to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

While the hosts dominated the ball in the opening interval, it was Colo-Colo who broke the deadlock thanks to a rocket of a strike from Lucas Cepeda.

Cepeda’s long-range effort may have given Colo-Colo some comfort in the tie, but that comfort only lasted a few minutes as veteran striker Carlos Bacca bagged for the hosts in first-half stoppage time to reignite the clash.

While Junior pushed to pull level on aggregate, their chances of a fight-back were crushed in the final 15 minutes thanks to a Maximiliano Falcón strike that reclaimed Colo-Colo’s two-goal lead.

To make matters worse, Rafael Pérez was sent off in the dying minutes, putting an end to Junior’s tournament in poor fashion.

Fluminense 2-1 Grêmio

Scorers: Silva 14′, Arias 28′ (P); Nunes 76′

The beloved Maracanã was home to another dramatic showing as Fluminense beat Grêmio on penalties in this all-Brazilian affair (3-3 on aggregate).

The hosts and holders had to rise to the occasion under pressure after losing the first leg 2-1. Thankfully, they had Thiago Silva to rely on again. Sixteen years after his last goal for his boyhood club, the captain scored a thumping header over the penalty spot to draw things level.

An unlucky call against Grêmio then put the visitors in the back seat minutes later as a controversial handball saw Jhon Arias double things from the penalty spot.

With just two shots after 45 minutes, but neither on target, the visitors changed their approach and swung possession in their favour. Reinaldo Manoel da Silva and Gustavo Nunes had opportunities saved while Martin Braithwaite struggled to have an impact.

With roughly 20 minutes to go, however, their persistence prevailed. Goalkeeper Fábio committed a howler as he punched the ball into his net but was saved by VAR as Jemerson was fractionally offside.

Grêmio fumed, and Fluminense were relieved, but only for a few minutes. A second mistake from the goalkeeper put the ball on a platter for Nunes and he bundled home to equalise 3-3 on aggregate.

The match then went to spot-kicks where the Maracanã erupted after Fluminense prevailed 4-2 with Arias scoring the winning penalty.