Godoy Cruz earned a golden draw in Brazil and is on its way to the round of 16 of the South American Championship.

Godoy Cruz earned an important point on their visit to Gremio in Porto Alegre, drawing 1-1, and maintained their lead in their Copa Sudamericana group against a direct rival. João Pedro opened the scoring, and Santino Andino equalized.

El Expreso didn't come out speculating, and during the first half , they showed no fear of facing a historic Brazilian soccer team . Far from it, they made their intentions clear by pressing and being dangerous from the first minute. Just before the 3rd minute, Gonzalo Abrego looked for the goal with a free kick, Volpi parried, and Andrés Meli finished off the rebound with a shot that once again challenged the goalkeeper.

Gremio's goal, a superb left-footed shot from João Pedro that beat Petroli in the first attempt of the afternoon, had little impact on the Mendoza side's approach. They continued to seek to recover in the transition zone and finish each attack without lingering on possession, allowing Altamira and Auzmendi to have their chances with attempts that narrowly missed.

In the 28th minute, Godoy Cruz deservedly equalized. Barrea held and unloaded on Altamira, who shot from the edge of the box, forcing Volpi to tap in a rebound, and Santino Andino appeared alone to put it away. Before the end of the first half, he even came close to turning the game around with a shot from Abrego that went just wide.

Gremio struggled to create dangerous chances, and had few opportunities in the opening half. Aside from the opening goal, the only notable opportunity was a triple chance in the 31st minute . First, Petroli blocked Olivera, then Arezo couldn't manage it because his shot was denied on the line, and then his scissor kick went wide.

The game changed in the second half, with Gremio taking complete control of the ball against a Godoy Cruz side that retreated against Petroli . However, the home side struggled to generate play and trouble their opponent.

The standouts for Porto Alegre were Belgian of Ghanaian origin Francis Amuzu, who at times drove the booked Arce crazy, and former Barcelona player Martin Braithwaite. The two came together in the 20th minute , with the former driving and setting up a shot and the latter's shot being saved by the visiting goalkeeper.

With ten minutes remaining, Amuzu took the lead again and played Monsalve, who hooked past his marker and smashed the ball against Petroli's right post in what was the most critical moment of the period. Ronald and Alyson also had a chance in the final minutes, but between Petroli and luck, the home side couldn't hold on.

In attack, Bodeguero only had one header from Mateo Mendoza , which found Volpi well positioned early on. In the closing stages, Solari sent Bastian Yáñez and Luca Martínez Dupuy onto the pitch, hoping for fresh legs for a potential counterattack, but he couldn't find any.

In this way, Tomba only has one match left, Atlético Grau in Mendoza , to end the first half of 2025, which was full of ups and downs and changes but which closes with the peace of mind of continuing in the Copa Sudamericana .