Nacional advance to Copa Colombia finals after beating Leones 4-1 on aggregate. Photo courtesy of @nacionaloficial
Atlético Nacional have booked their place in the Copa Colombia finals after comprehensively beating Leones of Itagüi 3-1 in the last round of the semis. The green team from Medellín will now look to win their fourth title after a dominant display at Atanasio Girardot winning 4-1 across the two legs.
The only goal-scorer from the first leg Dayro Moreno kicked things off with a header in front of goal 30 minutes in, courtesy of a fantastic cross from Yerson Candelo that sailed past three Leones defenders to perfectly find its man.
The second Nacional goal came after halftime following a brilliant save by Leones goalkeeper Cristian Arroyave, as Nacional won the ball back quickly and Carlos Rivas extended Nacional’s lead with a fine strike to the left of Arroyave.
Leones offered themselves few opportunities in the first half with only Roger Lemus having the first genuine chance saved by Christian Vargas. Antony Otero then gave Leones a reason to smile with 20 minutes to go, scoring his third goal of the league, though at this stage Nacional were through to the finals on aggregate.
Juan Pablo Ramírez sealed the game off in the 80th minute to make sure El Verde secured their place in the Copa Colombia final.
Nacional will go on to play either Millonarios or Once Caldas in the first leg of the finals, a daunting task for either given Nacional have never lost the finals in the league’s short history. Trainer Hernán Darío Herrera mentioned after the game he’d prefer to see a final against Millonarios given the history between the two teams.
Millonarios play Once Caldas tonight at El Campín in Bogotá at 7:45pm with the latter having a 1-0 advantage.