Vélez fell to Unión and is waiting on results to reach the Libertadores

El golpe fue duro para Vélez, but at least it is not leaving empty-handed. The 2-0 defeat against Unión in Santa Fe left it with a bitter taste in the big fight, although at the same time it secured, at minimum, participation in the Copa Sudamericana.

A closing stretch with the books still open

The team coached by Guillermo arrived at this stretch of the tournament with its sights set on the Copa Libertadores, but the outlook complicated after the loss to Tatengue. According to what was published, El Fortín will have to wait for results to find out whether it can still get into the top continental competition.

The situation is not ideal. The defeat forced it to look at the table with calculator in hand and to depend on a combination of other results to keep the Libertadores dream alive.

Unión won and is also keeping an eye on things

On the other side, Unión took an important home win thanks to a double from Tarragona. The victory not only allowed it to celebrate in front of its fans, but also left it waiting on what Independiente Rivadavia does to know whether it can make it into the playoffs.

In that context, the match had an impact for both sides:

• Unión added three valuable points and was left dependent on other results to stay in the race in the tournament.
• Vélez missed a chance to get closer to its main objective, although it has already secured a spot in the Sudamericana.

What lies ahead for El Fortín

The round left Vélez in an awkward position: it needs outside help if it wants to keep fighting for the Libertadores. It no longer depends only on itself, and that is always bad news when the margin is short.

Even so, the concrete fact is clear: the team from Liniers has already secured international football for next year, although now the challenge is to see whether it can make the jump to the other cup.