Cruzeiro 3–1 Nacional Montevideo
Cruzeiro will feel they already have one foot in the quarter-finals of this year’s Copa Libertadores after a convincing win in the home leg of their tie with Nacional.
A first half hat-trick from Thiago Ribeiro did the damage and gave the hosts a 3-0 lead at the interval. The lanky striker got to work in the first 10 minutes of the match as he latched on to a hopeful punt upfield before turning the ball home.
With the game heading towards a stalemate a late away goal in Peru eventually put Universidad de Chile in charge of this tie.
With the hosts looking to leave their mark on the game they were undone by a sucker punch in the last five minutes after committing too many men forward in attack. As the ball fell out of the sky it was missed by the two Alianza Lima defenders who had stayed back allowing journeyman striker Diego Rivarola a free path to slot home.
Even with the tie swinging in Universidad de Chile’s favour it is still too early to rule out an Alianza Lima team who have already sprung their fair share of surprises in this year’s tournament.
Once Caldas 0-0 Libertad
With no goals in Colombia the two teams must face each other again next week in Paraguay.
It is Once Caldas who will feel they missed a chance to open up an advantage in the fixture this week as they tested Libertad’s goalkeeper Bernardo Medina and hit the crossbar from close range in the second half.
Libertad will hope to create more next week in front of their home fans and book their passage to the quarter-finals.
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Thiago Ribeiro’s second came off his head and he completed his hat-trick just before half-time with a well placed drive from just outside the box.
Nacional gave themselves hope of getting back into the tie by grabbing an away goal through Mario Regueiro in the second half. The Uruguayans now need a win in their own backyard next week if they are to stand any chance of progressing.
Alianza Lima 0–1 Universidad de Chile
