Estudiantes and Platense Arrive in Chile Off Wins in the Argentine League

It's just a few days now until Universidad Catolica and Coquimbo Unido play for a spot in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals, and their opponents already did their part back home in Argentina. Estudiantes de La Plata and Platense both picked up three points this Saturday in the domestic league, each in its own way, and both arrive in Chile with morale high ahead of the round of 16 return legs.

The more emphatic statement came from Estudiantes, Universidad Catolica's opponent, in the La Plata derby against Gimnasia y Esgrima. The "Pincha" left no room for doubt, winning 4-0 at Estadio UNO. Eros Mancuso opened the scoring right near the end of the first half, and in the second half Eduardo Dominguez's side put the game away for good with goals from Tiago Palacios, Joaquin Tobio Burgos and Alexis Castro. With that result, Estudiantes remains atop Group A of the Argentine tournament, a lopsided win arriving at the best possible moment before the trip to Chile.

On the other side, Platense, the team facing Coquimbo Unido, had a much harder afternoon against Boca Juniors, the club right behind Estudiantes in the standings. The "Calamar" went ahead in the 58th minute thanks to Kevin Retamar, but Boca answered through Miguel Merentiel in the 80th. The match ended level, though for Platense the result is a bit bittersweet: they picked up a valuable point against a direct rival and avoided going into their biggest week of the season on the back of a loss. Carlos Palacios, for what it's worth, watched the game from Boca's bench.

What's Coming in Chile

Both first legs finished level at 1-1, so everything is still up for grabs heading into the return matches. Universidad Catolica will host Estudiantes on Tuesday the 18th at Claro Arena, while Coquimbo Unido will take on Platense a day later, Wednesday the 19th, at Francisco Sanchez Rumoroso. Whoever wins each tie advances to the quarterfinals of South America's premier club competition.

Neither visiting side arrives relaxed. Estudiantes shows up as leader of its group and with a fresh blowout win under its belt, the kind of result that always boosts a squad's confidence before an international trip. Platense, meanwhile, couldn't find a win, but didn't lose any ground in confidence either: they salvaged a draw against Boca in an even match and arrive with their full complement of options intact to focus on Coquimbo. For Catolica and Coquimbo Unido, the message is clear: their opponents arrive at full strength, with no schedule-related excuses, and the return legs will be decided with everything on the table.