Copa Libertadores: Independiente del Valle, Palestino Take Series Openers At Home

The opening week of the Copa Libertadores' preliminary round concluded on Thursday with two games.

At Sangolqui, Ecuador:

Mario Pineida scored the only goal of the match in the 79th minute as Independiente del Valle took the opening game of their two-match series with visiting Estudientes (Argentina) 1-0.   Whoever wins this series will join Colombia's Atletico Nacional, Ecuador's Barcelona Sporting Club, and Paraguay's Club Libertad in Group Seven. 

At Independencia, Chile:

Diego Rosende scored the only goal in the 69th minute of Palestino's series-opening 1-0 home victory over Uruguay's Club Nacional.  The winner of this series will join Zamora FC (Venezuela), Boca Juniors (Argentina), and Montevideo Wanderers FC (Uruguay) in Group Five.

For the record, two of the eight groups already have their full allotment of four teams each:

Group One:

Atletico Mineiro (Brazil)
Independiente Santa Fe (Colombia)
Colo-Colo (Chile)
Club Atlas (Mexico)

Group Six:

River Plate (Argentina)
Juan Aurich (Peru)
Club Deportivo San Jose (Bolivia)
UANL Tigres (Mexico)