Copa Sudamericana. Atlético Mineiro are in the Copa Sudamericana final, but Alan Franco is set to watch it from the stands. The Ecuador midfielder was sent off for a second yellow card on Wednesday night as Atlético lost 2-0 at Montevideo City Torque and still went through 3-2 on aggregate.

A costly second yellow

Franco started in midfield at the Estadio Centenario, protecting the 3-0 lead from the first leg in Belo Horizonte. He was booked in the 57th minute and saw a second yellow around the 75th minute for catching an opponent with his elbow as they challenged for a header, El Universo reported. FotMob credits him with 75 minutes, two tackles won and a 5.91 rating.

Down to ten, Atlético held on until the final minutes. Kevin Silva scored in the 89th minute and Gary Kagelmacher added a second in stoppage time, but Torque ran out of time to force penalties.

Why he is set to miss the final

A red card in the second leg of the semifinal carries an automatic one-game ban, so Franco will miss the final unless CONMEBOL changes the sanction, El Universo and Extra reported. Franco had played the full 90 minutes of the first leg, with a 7.4 FotMob rating.

His Ecuador teammates Ángelo Preciado and Alan Minda were on the bench but did not play, according to the official lineups.

An Ecuadorian subplot in Barranquilla

Atlético will face Boca Juniors in the one-game final on Saturday, November 21 at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Barranquilla, Colombia. CONMEBOL has not announced the kickoff time. Boca’s squad includes Ecuador’s all-time top scorer Enner Valencia, who came off the bench in the semifinal win over Vasco da Gama, so the final could yet be an all-Ecuadorian duel if Preciado or Minda get on the pitch.

Atlético lost last year’s final to Lanús, El Universo noted. Before the final, Franco and his teammates have Brasileirão games against Flamengo on Monday, October 26 and Cruzeiro on Thursday, October 29. Franco’s numbers are on our Players Tracker.