Copa Libertadores: Scoreless Draw In Santiago Good Enough For Boca To Advance To Final

At Santiago, Chile:


A 0-0 Thursday stalemate on the road in game two of their Copa Libertadores semifinal series with Universidad de Chile proved good enough for Boca Juniors as the Argentinian club won the two-game series four points to one.


The Copa Libertadores two-match final between Boca Juniors and Corinthians will start next Wednesday at Buenos Aires with the return match taking place on July 4 at Sao Paulo.


The winner will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup, set to take place this coming December in Japan.

Copa Libertadores: Santos Dethroned; Home Draw Good Enough For Corinthians To Advance To Final

At Sao Paulo, Brazil:


Danilo's equalizer in the 47th minute enabled Corinthians to come from behind to gain a 1-1 Wednesday game-two home draw with Santos, eliminating the defending Copa Libertadores champions as they won their two-game semifinal series four points to one.  Corinthians will take on the Boca Juniors-Universidad de Chile winner in the two-match final which starts next Wednesday with the winner advancing to December's FIFA Club World Cup, to be played in Japan.

Copa Libertadores: Boca Up 2-0 On Aggregate After Taking Semifinal Series Opener At Home

At Buenos Aires:


Santiago Silva (15') and Juan Sanchez Mino (55') each scored a goal on Thursday as Boca Juniors took the opening game of their two-match Copa Libertadores semifinal series with Universidad de Chile 2-0 at home.

Copa Libertadores: Santos Drop Semifinal Series Opener

At Santos, Brazil:


Emerson Sheik scored the only goal of the match in the 28th minute as Corinthians defeated Santos 1-0 on the road on Wednesday in the opening contest of their Copa Libertadores two-game semifinal series.

Copa Libertadores: Santos Survive PK Shootout To Advance, Assuring Brazilian Entry In Final; Universidad de Chile Also Survive PK Shootout

The quarterfinal round of the Copa Libertadores concluded with two games on Thursday.


At Santos, Brazil:


Alan Kardec scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute as Santos topped visiting Velez Sarsfield 1-0 in the second game of their two-game series.  The series, deadlocked at three points apiece and with neither club scoring a goal on the road in the two games, went directly into the penalty-kick shootout.  In the shootout, Alan Kardec, Paulo Ganso, Elano, and Leonardo Lourenco Leo Bastos all converted their  spot kicks as Santos won the shootout 4-2 to advance to the semifinal round, in which they would face fellow Brazilian club Corinthians.


At Santiago, Chile:


Marcelo Diaz scored in the 17th minute to give Universidad de Chile a 1-0 lead in the second game of their two-match series, only to see Club Libertad score on the road, thanks to Osvaldo Gonzalez's own goal in the 22nd minute.  After the 1-1 deadlock for game two, with each club registering three points and each scoring a goal on the road, Charles Aranguiz, Marcelo Diaz, Raul Ruidiaz, Matias Rodriguez, and Gustavo Lorenzetti all made their spot kicks as Universidad de Chile won the penalty-kick shootout 5-3 to advance to the semifinal round and a two-match encounter with Boca Juniors.

Copa LIbertadores: Boca Juniors and Corinthians Advance To Semifinals

The second half of the quarterfinal round of the Copa Libertadores commenced with two games played on Wednesday.


At Rio de Janeiro:


Santiago Silva scored the series-winning goal in 90th minute as Boca Juniors gained a 1-1 road draw in game two with Fluminense, enabling the Argentinian club to win their two-game series four points to one.


At Sao Paulo, Brazil:


Paulinho scored the only goal of both the match and the series in the 87th minute as Corinthians defeated visiting Vasco da Gama 1-0 in game two and won their two-match all-Brazilian series four points to one.

Copa Libertadores: Argentinian Clubs Blank Visiting Brazilian Clubs In Series Openers

Quarterfinal-round action in the Copa Libertadores continued with two games contested on Thursday.


At Buenos Aires:


Pablo Mouche scored the only goal of the match in the 52nd minute as Boca Juniors defeated visiting Fluminense 1-0 in the opening contest of their two-match series.


At Buenos Aires:


Mauro Obolo scored the only goal of the match in the 36th minute as Velez Sarsfield downed visiting Santos 1-0 in the opening contest of their two-game series.

Copa Libertadores: Two-Draw Wednesday

The quarterfinal round of the Copa Libertadores started with two games played on Wednesday.


At Asuncion, Paraguay:


Gustavo Lorenzetti delivered a 56th-minute equalizer that carried Universidad de Chile to a 1-1 road draw in the opening game of their two-match series with Club Libertad.  Victor Caceras scored in the eighth minute for the home-standing Paraguayan club.


At Rio de Janeiro:


The opening match of an all-Brazilian series between Vasco da Gama and visiting Corinthians ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Copa Libertadores: Santos, Fluminense, Universidad de Chile

The Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores concluded with three Thursday contests.


At Rio de Janeiro:


Leandro Euzebio (15') and Fred (45') provided the scoring as Fluminense came from behind to defeat visiting Internacional 2-1 in game two and won their two-match all-Brazilian series four points to one.


At Santos, Brazil:


Elano (6', 49'), Neymar (PK-21', 36'), and Paulo Ganso (27', 52') each scored twice as Santos more than recovered from their game-one road setback by ripping visiting Club Bolivar apart 8-0 in game two and with each team having earned three points in the two-game series, won on goal differential (+7 to -7 for the Bolivian club).


At Santiago, Chile:


Junior Fernandes (20', 27') and Angelo Henriquez (70', 73') each scored twice as Universidad de Chile blasted visiting Deportivo Quito 6-0 in game two and  won the two-match series based on better goal differential (+3 to the Ecuadorian club's -3) as both clubs registered three points each.


The quarterfinal round begins next week.  Here are the match-ups, with the hosts of the opening contest of each two-game series listed first:


Fluminense vs. Boca Juniors


Corinthians vs. Vasco da Gama


Santos vs. Velez Sarsfield


Universidad de Chile vs. Club Libertad

Copa Libertadores: Corinthians, Boca, Vasco Advance To Quarterfinals

The Copa Libertadores' Round of 16 continued with three more games on Wednesday.


At Santiago, Chile:


Juan Insaurralde (26'), Pable Mouche (50'), and Juan Riquelme (68') each scored a goal as Boca Juniors defeated Union Espanola 3-2 on the road in game two of their two-match series and won the series six points to none.


At Sao Paulo, Brazil:


Fabio Santos (8'), Paulinho (66'), and Alex (86') each scored a goal as Corinthians dominated visiting Emelec 3-0 in game two and won their two-match series four points to one.


At Lunus, Argentina:


Hugo Mariano Pavone (61') and Teofilo Gutierrez (78') each scored a goal as Lanus led visiting Vasco da Gama 2-1 in regulation time in game two, with the two-game series deadlocked at three points apiece.  In the penalty-kick shootout, Vasco won the shootout 5-4 to advance to the quarterfinal round.

Copa Libertadores: Velez Sarsfield, Club Libertad Advance To Quarterfinal Round

The Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores continued with two games played on Tuesday.


At Asuncion, Paraguay:


Jose Nunez (9') and Victor Caceres (49') provided the goal power as Club Libertad defeated visiting Cruz Azul 2-0 in game two of their two-match series and won the series four points to one.


At Buenos Aires:


Augusto Fernandez scored in the 52nd minute to lift Velez Sarsfield to a 1-1 game-two home draw with Atletico Nacional and took out the Colombian club four points to one.

Copa LIbertadores Round of 16: Deportivo Quito Halfway To Quarterfinals

At Quito, Ecuador:


Matias Alustiza scored twice (30', 56') as Deportivo Quito defeated visiting Universidad de Chile 4-1 in the opening game of their two-game series in the lone Thursday Copa Libertadores Round of 16 contest.

Copa Libertaodres: Goose Eggs In Guayaquil, Vasco and Boca Grab Series-Opening Wins

The Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores continued with three Wednesday contests.


At Guayaquil, Colombia:


The opening match of the two-game series between Club Sport Emelec and visiting Corinthians ended in a 0-0 stalemate.


At Rio de Janeiro:


Alecsandro (25') and Diego Souza (42') each scored a first-half goal as Vasco da Gama took the opening contest of their two-game series with visiting Lanus 2-1.  Mario Regueiro scored on the road for the Argentinian club in the 62nd minute to keep them in the series.


At Buenos Aires:


Juan Roman Riquelme (24') and Santiago Silva (89') each delivered a goal as Boca Juniors took the opening match of their two-game series 2-1 over visiting Union Espanola.  Sebastian Jaime kept the Chilean club in the series with his road goal in the 72nd minute.

Copa Libertadores: Club Libertad Gain Game-One Road Draw With Cruz Azul; Velez Sarsfield Take Match One On The Road

The knockout stage (Round of 16) of the Copa Libertadores continued with two Tuesday contests.


At Medellin, Colombia:


Ivan Bella scored the only goal of the match in the 9th minute as Velez Sarsfield took the opening match of their two-game series with Atletico Nacional 1-0 on the road.


At Mexico City:


Pablo Velazquez delivered the equalizer in the 71st minute to lift Club Libertad to a 1-1 road draw in the opening game of their two-match series with Cruz Azul.  Javier Orozco scored at 27 minutes for the Mexican club.

Copa Libertadores: Bolivar Top Santos In Series Opener; Goose Eggs In Porto Alegre

The knockout stage of the Copa Libertadores got underway on Wednesday with the opening contest of each of two two-game series.


At La Paz, Bolivia:


Jhasmany Campos scored the winning goal in the 74th minute as Club Bolivar defeated defending champions Santos 2-1 in the opening contest of their two-match series.


At Porto Alegre, Brazil:


In the opening match of an all-Brazilian Round of 16 two-game series, Fluminense held home-standing Internacional to a 0-0 stalemate.  The hosts' Jesus Datolo failed on his penalty kick attempt in the 57th minute.

Copa Libertadores: Santos Advance To Knockout Stage

Four games were played on Thursday as group-stage play in the Copa Libertadores came to a conclusion.


Group One:


At Chiclayo, Peru:


Luis Tejada scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute as Juan Aurich, already eliminated from the tournament, prevented Internacional from winning Group One by defeating the visiting Brazilian club 1-0.


At Santos, Brazil:


Alan Kardec (85') and Neymar (87') each scored a late goal as Santos won Group One and eliminated The Strongest from the tournament by defeating the visiting Bolivian club 2-0.


FINAL GROUP ONE STANDINGS:


1. Santos (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 13)
2. Internacional (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 8)
3. The Strongest (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 7)
4. Juan Aurich (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 6)


Santos and Internacional advanced to the knockout stage.


Group Eight:


At Santiago, Chile:


Osvaldo Gonzalez scored the winning goal in the 69th minute as Universidad de Chile won the Group Eight title with a 2-1 home win over fellow knockout-stage qualifiers Atletico Nacional.


At Montevideo, Uruguay:


Jorge Zambrana scored twice (38', 74') as Penarol erased an early two-goal deficit and overtook visiting Godoy Cruz 4-2.


FINAL GROUP EIGHT STANDINGS:


1. Universidad de Chile (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 13)
2. Atletico Nacional (GP: 6; GD: +8; PTS: 11)
3. Godoy Cruz (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 5)
4. Penarol (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 4)


Universidad de Chile and Atletico Nacional advanced to the knockout stage.

Copa Libertadores: Play Concludes In Groups Four and Six

Four games were played in Copa Libertadores group-stage action.


Group Four:


At Sarandi, Argentina:


Rafael Moura scored the winning goal in second-half stoppage time (90'+2) as Fluminense defeated Arsenal de Sarandi 2-1 on the road.


At Buenos Aires:


Nicolas Blandi (67') and Juan Riquelme (74') each scored a goal as Boca Juniors blanked visiting Zamora 2-0.


FINAL GROUP FOUR STANDINGS:


1. Fluminense (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 15)
2. Boca Juniors (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 13)
3. Arsenal de Sarandi (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. Zamora FC (GP: 6; GD: -8; PTS: 1)


Fluminense and Boca Juniors advanced to the knockout stage.


Group Six:


At Sao Paulo, Brazil:


Six different goal scorers each tallied once as Corinthians dismembered visiting Deportivo Tachira 6-0.


At Mexico City:


Four different goal scorers each delivered a tally as Cruz Azul dominated visiting Club Nacional (Paraguay) 4-1.


FINAL GROUP SIX STANDINGS:


1. Corinthians (GP: 6; GD: +11; PTS: 14)
2. Cruz Azul (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 11)
3. Club Nacional (Paraguay) (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 4)
4. Deportivo Tachira (GP: 6; GD: -11; PTS: 3)

Copa Libertadores: Deportivo Quito Make Goatburgers Out Of Chivas (Guadalajara) To Advance To Knockout Stage; Club Bolivar Also In Round of 16

The final week of group-stage play in the Copa Libertadores commenced with four games on Tuesday.

Group Three:

At Barranquilla, Colombia:


Sherman Cardenas (22') and Luis Paez (34') each delivered a goal as Junior de Barranquilla knocked off knockout stage-bound Union Espanola 2-1 at home.

At La Paz, Bolivia:


Pablo Frontini (1'), Walter Flores (27'), and Damian Lizio (48') each scored a goal as Club Bolivar blanked visiting Universidad Catolica 3-0 to lock up a berth in the knockout stage.

FINAL GROUP THREE STANDINGS:


1. Union Espanola (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 10)
2. Club Bolivar (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 10)
3. Junior de Barranquilla (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
4. Universidad Catolica (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 6)


Union Espanola and Club Bolivar advanced to the knockout stage.

Group Seven:

At Quito, Ecuador:

Matias Gustavo Alustiza delivered a quadruple (18', 28', 71', 87') as Deportivo Quito destroyed visiting Chivas de Guadalajara 5-0 to lock up a berth in the knockout stage.

At Buenos Aires:

Andres Nicolas Olivera (8'), Diego Martin Rodriguez (38'), and Matias Britos (47') each tallied once as Defensor Sporting defeated Velez Sarsfield (who had already won Group Seven) 3-1 on the road.  The win was still not enough for the Uruguayan club who, because of Deportivo Quito's dismantling of Chivas de Guadalajara, were still eliminated from the tournament.

FINAL GROUP SEVEN STANDINGS:

1. Velez Sarsfield (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 12)
2. Deportivo Quito (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 10)
3. Defensor Sporting (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 9)
4. Chivas de Guadalajara (GP: 6; GD: -10; PTS: 4)

Velez Sarsfield and Deportivo Quito advanced to the knockout stage.

Copa LIbertadores: Emelec Qualify For Knockout Stage; Flamengo Eliminated

Action in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores continued with four Thursday contests.


Group Two:


At Rio de Janeiro:


Welinton Souza Silva (17'), Deivid de Souza (41'), and Luis Antonio de Souza Soares (49') each delivered a goal as Flamengo dominated previously knockout-stage qualified Lanus 3-0.  Despite the home win, due to Club Emelec's win at Club Olimpia, the Brazilian club were still eliminated from the tournament.


At Asuncion, Paraguay:


Jose Quinonez scored the game-winning goal in second-half stoppage time (90'+2) as Club Sport Emelec defeated Club Olimpia 3-2 on the road to advance to the Round of 16, eliminating the Paraguayan club from the tournament in the process.


FINAL GROUP TWO STANDINGS:


1. Lanus (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 10)
2. Club Sport Emelec (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 9)
3. Flamengo (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 8)
4. Club Olimpia (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 7)


Lanus and Club Sport Emelec advanced to the knockout stage.


Group Five:


At Montevideo, Uruguay:


Diego Souza scored the lone goal of the match in the 56th minute as Vasco da Gama defeated Club Nacional (Uruguay) 1-0 on the road.


At Lima, Peru:


Jose Nunez scored the winning goal in the 74th minute as Club Libertad defeated Alianza Lima 2-1 on the road in come-from-behind fashion and won Group Five.


FINAL GROUP FIVE STANDINGS:


1. Club Libertad (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 13)
2. Vasco da Gama (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 13)
3. Club Nacional (Uruguay) (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. Alianza Lima (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 3)


Club Libertad and Vasco da Gama advanced to the knockout stage.

Copa Libertadores: Velez Sarsfield, Boca Juniors, Cruz Azul, Corinthians Advance To Knockout Stage

Three games were played in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.


Group Four:


At Rio de Janeiro:


Dario Cvitanich (34') and Juan Sanchez Mino (75') provided the goal power that carried Boca Juniors into the knockout stage of the tournament following their 2-0 road win over Fluminense, who had already qualified for the Round of 16.


GROUP FOUR STANDINGS:


1. x-Fluminense (GP: 5; GD: +2; PTS: 12) 
2. x-Boca Juniors (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 10)
3. z-Arsenal de Sarandi (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
4. z-Zamora FC (GP: 5; GD: -6; PTS: 1)


x-Clinched berth in knockout stage
z-Eliminated from tournament


Group Six:


At Ciudad del Este, Paraguay:


Jorge Henrique (29'), Emerson Sheik (52'), and Elton Rodrigues Brandao (71') each tallied once as Corinthians defeated Club Nacional of Paraguay 3-1 on the road to lock up a berth in the knockout stage, eliminating the Paraguayan club from the tournament and locking up a Round of 16 berth from Cruz Azul in the process.






GROUP SIX STANDINGS:


1. x-Corinthians (GP: 5; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
2. x-Cruz Azul (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 8)
3. z-Club Nacional (Paraguay) (GP: 5; GD: -4; PTS: 4)
4. z-Deportivo Tachira (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 3)


x-Clinched berth in knockout stage
z-Eliminated from tournament


Group Seven:


At Zapopan, Mexico:


Augusto Fernandez (69') and Lucas Pratto (89') each scored a goal as Velez Sarsfield clinched the Group Seven title as well as a berth in the knockout stage with a 2-0 road win over Chivas de Guadalajara.


GROUP SEVEN STANDINGS:


1. y-Velez Sarsfield (GP: 5; GD: +6; PTS: 12)
2. Deportivo Quito (GP: 5; GD: +2; PTS: 7)
3. Defensor Sporting (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS: 6)
4. Chivas de Guadalajara (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 4)


y-Won Group Seven and clinched berth in knockout stage