Atletico Mineiro reach Copa Sudamericana final

Brazil's Atletico Mineiro secured a place in the Copa Sudamericana final with a 3-1 home win over Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle on Tuesday.

Guilherme Arana gave the hosts the lead in the second leg of the semifinal at Arena MRV with a close-range strike after Dudu's cross from the left byline.

Bernard doubled the advantage just before halftime, running onto Dudu's through ball and lifting a shot over goalkeeper Guido Villar.

Claudio Spinelli reduced the deficit by tapping home from close range but Hulk finished clinically on the counterattack to restore Atletico's two-goal cushion.

The result gave Atletico a 4-2 win on aggregate after the teams drew 1-1 in last week's first leg.

"It was a game in which everything went according to plan," Atletico manager Jorge Sampaoli told a post-match news conference.

"We were clearly the superior team and the way we played in the first half was the best I've seen from this group since I arrived [in September]."

Atletico will meet the winner of the other semifinal between Argentina's Lanus and Universidad de Chile in the final in Asuncion on November 22. The teams drew 2-2 in the first leg in Santiago, with the return fixture to be played in Argentina on Thursday.