Estudiantes de La Plata beat defending champions Flamengo 3-2 on penalties at the Maracaná in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night to reach the Copa Libertadores final, South America’s top club competition, after a second 0-0 draw in the semifinal.
Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, 40, saved shots from Jorginho, Lucas Paquetá and Bruno Henrique. Estudiantes played from the 50th minute with 10 men, after Baltasar Rodríguez was sent off for a second yellow card.
Muslera had a dreadful World Cup with Uruguay this summer. Estudiantes president Juan Sebastián Verón, the former Argentina midfielder, said afterward that he had talked with the goalkeeper a lot during and after the tournament and that Muslera did not deserve to leave football the way that World Cup ended.
The final is a single match on Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, against Brazil’s Palmeiras, which beat Fluminense 5-3 on penalties in the other semifinal. Estudiantes is a four-time champion, most recently in 2009, and has not played a final since.
The result guarantees the club US$15.93 million in Conmebol prize money, the South American football confederation’s payouts, according to Infobae’s tally, which includes the runner-up’s share. The champion would receive US$25 million instead of the runner-up’s US$7 million.
Boca Juniors reached the Copa Sudamericana final this week, so Argentina will have clubs in both of South America’s continental finals.