A Boring Draw in Porto Alegre Sees Inter Through to the Next Round.

By: Mauro | October 2nd, 2008

Coming into this match with no guarantees, Internacional of Porto Alegre hosted Chilean side Universidad Católica with a very slight edge. An away goal is the difference between these two clubs and that was about it.

You see, Inter drew the last match in Santiago last week 1-1 with a goal late in the match leaving Católica with a losing taste in their mouths.

In this match, Inter coach Tité decided to rest his very best players since his squad is mere points away from a Copa Libertadores spot on the Brasileirao table. So he fielded a side that featured many substitutes with the idea of leveraging the result they earned in the first leg.

Católica coach Fernando Carvallo’s side was very imprecise and had trouble connecting with each other. A fact that ended up killing the ball movement and effectively, their attack. So much so, that their only shot on goal came near the end of the match with Inter keeper Clemer diving to keep it out.

But Inter was no picture of offensive football either. They played instead like they were resting on the result they had gained a week ago. The only player looking for his teammates and looking to score was Adriano who had a chance to score late in the first half after leaving his marker behind as well as Católica keeper José Maria Buljubasich.

Tité subbed on Pablo Guiñazu thinking this would open up some faster pace play since the midfield was populated with far too many players. But only moments after being subbed on, he dislocated his elbow and needed to be subbed off.

So after wasting a substitution and without Andrés D’Alessandro or Guiñazu on the pitch, Inter had very few creative options so they sat back on defense and held on for dear life, killing time by elongating their possession of the ball.

Facundo Imboden had a chance to score near the end of the match but Clemer was able to keep it out and qualify his team for the next round.

I had this one going 2-1 to Católica with the Chileans advancing. I had a good feeling about Católica but it seems Inter were just enough to keep them at bay tonight.

Still neither team was dominating in either of the two legs. The next round will be tough for Inter unless they field their starting XI. Inter face the winner of LDU Quito and Boca Juniors in the next round.

Feel free to check the CONMEBOL website for results and information about upcoming matches and for those of you in need of a bracket to get your heads around the competition, get one here.