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Internacional de Porto Alegre qualified this Saturday to play in the playoffs of the Copa Sudamericana after beating the Ecuadorian Delfín 1-0, in a match on the fifth day of Group C postponed due to flooding in Porto Alegre.
A solitary goal by Argentine Lucas Alario in the 69th minute gave victory and qualification to Internacional, who were obliged to win to stay alive in the tournament.
The locals came out with everything and overwhelmed their rival in the first minutes, although without success in the final meters.
Delfín, who needed a draw to qualify, dreamed of the point for a good part of the match with a very defensive approach and repeated losses of time.
Alario’s goal woke up the Ecuadorians, who in the last minutes desperately tried to equalize, without success.
With the victory, Internacional finished second in group C, with 11 points, one less than Argentine Belgrano de Córdoba and three more than Delfín, while Real Tomayapo was last with 1 point.
Internacional will face Argentina’s Rosario Central in the play-off, and the winner will face Brazilian Fortaleza in the round of 16.
The match, the first that Internacional played in front of its fans after 41 days, was played at the Alfredo Jaconi stadium in Caxias do Sul, as Beira Rio in Porto Alegre was still affected by the historic floods that hit the capital of Gaucho.
It was precisely these floods that forced the postponement of the match, initially scheduled for May 16 in Porto Alegre.
prb/gfe
