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Palmeiras edge Fluminense to reach Copa Libertadores final / Photo: NELSON ALMEIDA - AFP
Palmeiras edge Fluminense to reach Copa Libertadores final
Palmeiras overcame a late scare to defeat Fluminense on penalties in an all-Brazilian semi-final and reach the Copa Libertadores final for the seventh time on Wednesday.
Fluminense, trailing 2-1 from last week's first leg, stunned Palmeiras with eight minutes of normal time remaining when Hercules swept in an emphatic winner at the Nubank Parque stadium in Sao Paulo.
That made it 2-2 on aggregate, sending the game immediately to a penalty shoot-out after the final whistle.
The decisive moment in the shoot-out came when Fluminense's Nonato saw his team's fourth penalty saved by Palmeiras goalkeeper Carlos Miguel to leave his team trailing 4-3.
Palmeiras midfielder Marlon Freitas made no mistake with the fifth kick to send them into the final for the second year running.
Palmeiras, runners-up in last year's final, will face either reigning champions Flamengo or Argentina's Estudiantes in next month's final in Montevideo.
Flamengo and Estudiantes drew the first leg of their semi-final in Buenos Aires 0-0 last week and play their second leg at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
W.Kretschmer--BlnAP
