Palacios, Ascacíbar, and Carrillo Seal the Deal Before Halftime

The Argentine side, coached by Eduardo Domínguez, began cautiously but quickly exposed the Chilean defense. The opener came in the 22nd minute when Tiago Palacios took advantage of a defensive mistake by Franco Calderón and calmly slotted the ball past a hesitant Gabriel Castellón.

Santiago Ascacíbar, the team captain, doubled the lead in the 31st minute with a header off a Gabriel Neves corner kick. Just eight minutes later, Guido Carrillo made it 3–0 with a composed finish in a one-on-one against Castellón.

The Chilean side, led by Gustavo Álvarez, looked overwhelmed and disorganized throughout the first half. Their best chance came from Nicolás Guerra, but his shot was well saved by goalkeeper Matías Mansilla.

Estudiantes Take Control of Group A

With the win, Estudiantes now lead Group A with 9 points. Universidad de Chile, who started the matchday as leaders, dropped to second with 7, just one point ahead of Botafogo, who remains in contention after defeating Carabobo.

In the second half, Álvarez made four changes in an attempt to spark a comeback, bringing on Rodrigo Contreras, Javier Altamirano, and Leandro Fernández, but despite showing more energy, the team failed to score.

Next up, Universidad de Chile will host Carabobo in a must-win game, while Estudiantes de La Plata will travel to Brazil to face Botafogo in a matchup that could determine the group’s first qualifier for the knockout stage. Both matches will be crucial in the closing stretch of the group phase.