Paraguayan football club Libertad, known as “El Gumarelo”, has defeated Nacional 1-0 in the final of the sixth edition of the Paraguay Cup.
The grand final of the 2024 edition of the Paraguay Cup was played at the Defensores del Chaco stadium, where Libertad was crowned champion, after beating Nacional by the minimum difference of 1-0, with a solitary goal from Rubén Lezcano.
Libertad’s path to winning the Copa de Todos title was as follows: A 1-0 victory over Deportivo Santaní, then a 2-0 defeat over Encarnación FC, and then a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Sol de América after a goalless draw in normal time.
Then they beat Sportivo Luqueño with a score of 2-0, and on Friday night in the Paraguay Cup final, one goal was enough for Libertad to defeat Nacional 1-0 and become champions of the competition for the third time, the APF report highlights.
The runner-up position went to Nacional, third place to Sportivo Luqueño and fourth to Guaraní. With this title, Libertad earned the chance to compete for the Paraguay Super Cup against Olimpia, champion of the Clausura tournament of the First Division Cup.
Paraguay Cup match summary:
Libertad 1-0 National
Stadium: Defensores del Chaco
Referee: Juan Benitez
Referee Assistants: Eduardo Cardozo and Carmelo Candia
Fourth official: Alipio Colman
VAR: Carlos Figueredo
Assistant VAR: Hector Balbuena.
Goals:
55′ Ruben Lezcano (L).
Booked:
64′ Ivan Franco (L); 16′ Gustavo Caballero and 26′ Orlando Gaona Lugo (N).
Paraguay Cup Final Lineups :
Libertad (1):
Rodrigo Morínigo; Iván Ramírez. Diego Viera, Miguel Jacquet y Matías Espinoza; Iván Franco (78’ Cristian Riveros), Lucas Sanabria (78’ Ángel Cardozo), Álvaro Campuzano y Marcelo Fernández (68’ Antonio Bareiro); Rubén Lezcano y Roque Santa Cruz (68’ Óscar Cardozo). DT.: Sergio Aquino.
National (0):
Santiago Rojas; Juan Luis Alfaro, Claudio Núñez, Juan Cruz Monteagudo and Gastón Benítez (65′ Leonardo Rivas); Juan Fernando Alfaro (75′ Hugo Franco), Gustavo Caballero, Fabrizio Jara and Leandro Meza (46′ Jordan Santacruz); Orlando Gaona Lugo and Ignacio Bailone (65′ Diego Duarte). DT.: Victor Bernay.
