Corinthians earned a valuable 1-0 away win over Racing in Montevideo on Thursday, moving up to second place in Group C with one matchday left in the Copa Libertadores group stage, and keeping their hopes alive for a spot in the Round of 16.

With this result, Timao now sit on 8 points, three behind leaders Huracán and one ahead of América de Cali, who are in third. Uruguayan side Racing, already eliminated, remain at the bottom of the group with zero points.

Huracán, who played to a goalless draw in Cali the day before, remain in control of the group and can secure the top spot when the group stage wraps up on May 27.

On a night marked in Uruguay by the final day of mourning for former president José Mujica, the match proved to be more hard-fought than expected. Corinthians only managed to break the deadlock in the 74th minute.

The difference came from a long-range effort by left-back Matheus Bidú, whose low shot took a deflection off the left foot of defender Guillermo Cotugno, leaving goalkeeper Lautaro Amade with no chance to react.

The team led by Dorival Júnior, former coach of the Brazilian national team, held firm for the final 15 minutes and returned to São Paulo with three crucial points in their fight to stay in the tournament.

After a first half with no clear advantage, Júnior—who took over the squad in late April after being dismissed by Brazil just a month earlier—made three changes, including bringing on Peruvian midfielder André Carrillo and Brazilian striker Yuri Alberto.

Two of the players subbed out were Spanish forward Héctor Hernández and Paraguayan winger Ángel Romero, whose brother Óscar Romero, currently with Internacional, also celebrated a win in Montevideo on Thursday—2-0 against Nacional.

The victory keeps Corinthians’ chances of reaching the knockout stage alive. However, in order to qualify directly for the Round of 16, they will need to defeat Huracán by a large margin in the final round, as the Argentine side currently holds a seven-point and seven-goal advantage.

If Corinthians fail to win, they could be eliminated if América de Cali defeat Racing at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium. Racing are the only team in the competition to have lost all their matches and remain without a single point.