Major clubs missing out on 2017 Copa Libertadores

With the 2017 Copa Libertadores under way, 47 teams are fighting for the most prestigious South American crown. While three of them have been eliminated during the first round of qualification already, others did not even get the chance to enter the competition due to numerous reasons. Here are the 12 former Libertadores champions that will not be there in 2017.

Independiente's players with the trophy in 1984. It was their last triumph to date (Photo: xenen.com.ar).

Independiente

Constantly in the conversation for big titles, constantly coming up well short. It is the story of Argentina's Independiente in the past years. While it has not always been this way, the record winner of the Copa Libertadores (seven titles) has not won the title since 1984. Even their latest domestic title has nearly been forgotten ever since 2003. By finishing three points behind promoted Atlético Tucumán in the league, they missed out on the last qualification spot for the international stage and will instead compete in the Copa Sudamericana later on this year. 

Racing Club

Staying in Argentina, Racing Club was included relatively often in the Copa Libertadores of previous seasons. Not this time around, as they played a very average season to finish in eleventh, well behind the required top 5 position. At least they gathered the final Sudamericana spot and will join their archrivals from next door in trying to win that one. Racing won the Libertadores once, all the way back in 1967.

Cruzeiro

Over to Brazil, a two-time winner of the competition will not be around this time. Despite a whopping eight spots for the association, Cruzeiro's highly disappointing 12th place finish saw them come up well short. Their most previous final appearance came in 1997, when they beat surprise side Sporting Cristal from Peru 1-0 on aggregate. Now, they can instead focus on their state championships and the Serie A later on.

Boca Juniors

After a double in Argentina, many expected the Boca Juniors to march on to the Copa Libertadores title as well. They did anything but that and got eliminated by outsider Independiente del Valle from Ecuador. In the Argentine Primera, they finished 17th and showcased a ton of problems throughout the year. At the end of it, club icon Carlos Tévez left for China as well. Will we see the six-time champion back in action as early as 2018? 

Argentinos Juniors

Argentinos Juniors' team ahead of the final in 1985 (Photo: kaisermagazine.com).

You cannot be much further away from the Copa Libertadores than Argentinos Juniors. Diego Maradona's club is currently playing in the second division. At least that has gone quite well for them after nearly half the season is over. They sit in second place, only two points behind Guillermo Brown. Their agenda includes a lot of steps ahead of a return to the international stage. In 1985, it took three finals to decide a winner between Juniors and América de Cali, with the Argentines coming out ahead on penalties.

São Paulo FC

São Paulo is one of the most popular teams on the continent, also due to their three successes in the competition. Led by iconic goalkeeper Rogério Ceni, they marched to their last title in July 2005. Their past year was less impressive, as they finished tenth in Brazil's Serie A. At least a semifinal appearance in last year's Copa Libertadores could calm the supporters, however Atlético Nacional were way too strong back then. 

Vélez Sársfield

Vélez missed qualification by quite some margin. Their average year was not even enough to get into the Copa Sudamericana in 2017. You would not really expect the club at the top anyway, considering their latest Libertadores triumph came back in 1994. The aforementioned São Paulo FC was beaten on penalties, with the help of another goalkeeping legend: José Luis Chilavert. 

Vasco da Gama

I promise there will be more countries than just Argentina and Brazil soon. For now, back to the North-East, where Vasco da Gama has just managed to return to the Serie A after a year in the second tier of Brazilian football. In 1998, they were in the middle of a sandwich consisting of three winners of the same country in a row. A young Juninho Pernambucano was a part of Vasco's midfield, before he went on to Europe for a great career. Ecuador's Barcelona had no answer, losing 1-4 on aggregate.

LDU Quito

Talking of Ecuador: LDU Quito was the first and only champion of the Copa Libertadores from Ecuador. Their 2008 triumph came on penalties against Fluminense. Lately, they have been more down than up and only finished sixth in their domestic league. It is quite likely that they will return to the competition sooner rather than later though, maybe as early as 2018?

Once Caldas

Once Caldas' ultimate triumph in 2004 (Photo: caracol.com.co)

The Colombian headlines were written by Atlético Nacional most recently, but Once Caldas cannot be dismissed. In 2004, the club won the Copa Libertadores itself, on penalties against Boca Juniors. Their squad back in the days included players such as Elkin Soto, who went on to become valuable players in Europe. That has been the last hooray for quite some time either way, as they finished lowly in Colombia's Apertura and Finalización. 

Internacional

Oh Inter, what happened to you? The two-time winner, most recently in 2010, suddenly finds itself in Brazil's second division following a horrendous season. While their chances to get promoted again soon are possibly quite high, the international stage could be in quite some distance for a few years. It is a shame, because their stadium and fans are made for Copa Libertadores nights.

Corinthians

Last name on the list is another big name from Brazil in Corinthians. The situation for them looks a lot less grim than for Internacional. After their whole team was ripped apart following their title a year ago, they still managed to find some sort of rhythm and finished only two points shy of a Libertadores spot. Able to concentrate on the league fully, it would not surprise to see them back in the competition as early as next year.

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Deserved triumph - Atlético Nacional wins Copa Libertadores

Atlético Nacional have won the Copa Libertadores for the second time in club history. After their first triumph back in 1989, a 1-0 win over Independiente del Valle on the night was enough to beat the Ecuadorian surprise team 2-1 on aggregate. 

Copa Libertadores final night in Medellín. (Photo: Getty Images)

Following a football-wise pretty disappointing first leg a week ago in Quito, the tie shifted to Colombia. Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere was outstanding and appropriate for the occasion. A stadium-wide chroreography in the club colours green and white was paired with a lot of confetti, lighters in the dark night and the usual fireworks. If you imagined standing on the pitch ahead of this game and listening to the national anthems, it had to be very hard to keep your concentration onto the actual game and you could see just that in many players' faces.

Could you want anything more as a football fan? (Photo: Getty Images)

Lineups

Going into tonight's game, Atlético Nacional's coach Reinaldo Rueda made two changes. Alejandro Guerra and and Alexander Mejia replaced Diego Arias and the suspended Sebastián Pérez.

Pablo Repetto on the other hand left his visiting team unchanged, despite the not fully fit José Angulo and Emiliano Tellechea. Obviously, they would not miss a Copa Libertadores final. It could be the only one in their careers.

First half

After their tactical mistake to do nothing and only sit back ever since taking the lead in the first leg, Atlético seemed determined to not make the same errors again today. Right from kickoff, the Colombians attacked their opponents early and got their first large chance inside a minute. Miguel Borja was sent through with a long ball, but blasted it far over the crossbar.

The always dangerous right-back Daniel Bocanegra followed it up with a thunderous shot from distance and missed just wide. As Atlético kept pushing their opponents back into their own half, it was only a matter of time until we saw an opening goal. Nine minutes in, a freekick from Macnelly Torres went by everyone and hit the left goalpost. From there, Arturo Mina tried to clear but could not make sufficient contact with the ball. Borja was wide open in the centre of the area and made no mistake this time, scoring into the bottom left corner. 1:0.

Miguel Borja, the goalscorer. (Photo: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images)

Miguel Borja's story is a fantastic one. Transferred over from Cortuluá to their league rivals Atlético Nacional only a month ago, the striker made a name for himself in almost no time. In just four Copa Libertadores games, he now scored five times. After two in each leg against São Paulo, he quickly proved to be his new team's decisive factor.

Torres in the middle of the pitch had one of his best games for his club in quite a while and kept surprising the Ecuadorian defense with passes and set pieces that were tremendously hard to defend. Independiente del Valle did not play bad, with a high line of defense, but was simply overwhelmed by Nacional's offensive tornado during the opening stages. Marlos Moreno and Orlando Berrio on the wings were the ones profiting.

After 30 minutes, it led to a penalty shout when Torres sent through Berrio. He was brought down by goalkeeper Librado Azcona, but it was likely not enough to be given. Just shortly after, it was Borja again who could have made it 2-0, but he was stopped short by a magnificent tackle from Independiente's best defender Mina. Him and Azcona were the reasons it was still just a one-goal deficit when Repetto's team had their first opportunity. A sharp pass from Junior Sornoza had found his teammate Julio Angulo, who could have equalized, but instead saw his shot go over the crossbar as well.

The rest of the first half was a pretty even affair and even though the hosts dominated for large parts and had the lion's share of the possession, they could not stop some quick counter attacks. However, they led to nothing due to offside positions or lack of precision.

Second half

To start the second 45 minutes, Independiente del Valle made a substitution and brought on Jonny Uchuari for Junior Sornoza. It was a change that made limited sense to me, but Sornoza had seen the yellow card already and was probably protected by his coach.

Uchuari brought confusion to the Colombian backline right after coming on, when he danced by several defenders and was suddenly on the ground with his teammates shouting for a penalty the other way this time. Judging by the replays, it was none and the Argentine referee Néstor Pitana made another good decision.

After giving away the control for the first five minutes of the second half, Atlético Nacional regained it in strong fashion and failed to score from a clear cut chance yet again. Marlos Moreno made the whole defense look like youth players with his dribbles and laid the ball back to Berrio. He needed some time to control the ball, but then shot it wide across the face of goal.

While Uchuari did quite well on the other side, the precise passing of Sornoza was missed in a lot of Independiente's few offensive scenes. Instead, Macnelly Torres continued to be the main man in midfield, setting Borja and the wingers in scene multiple times. Borja could have made it 2-0 once more when shooting too far left, afterwards it was Moreno's turn to head it past the goalkeeper Azcona, but also wide.

Even though time was ticking down quickly now, the Colombians kept dominating and therefore avoiding to repeat their aforementioned mistakes. Instead of bolstering the defense for the final minutes, Rueda made it clear to his players what we wanted to see by bringing on striker for striker twice. Goalscorer Borja and Moreno left the pitch under the thunderous applause from their home support.

Not once in the final ten minutes could Independiente del Valle really threaten the in-form backline of Atlético Nacional which had thoroughly impressed during the group stages by not giving up a single goal. Despite its most recent shakyness, they regained their form when it mattered most. When Pitana blew the whistle for fulltime, the night reached its beautiful conclusion with the Colombians winning their first Copa Libertadores title in 27 years.

Trophy time in Colombia.

Analysis

Deserved? A big YES. Both the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana are now being held by Colombian teams. Atlético Nacional was by far the best team in this year's competition and finally justified their favourite status with equally good performances. Their defense was particularly good early on, towards the end it was new signing Miguel Borja that carried them over the finish line.

31-year old midfielder Macnelly Torres pulled off a Man of the Match performance in the biggest game of his career. Lovely passing, always in position to receive balls from his teammates, offensive mastermind of Reinaldo Rueda's XI.

While their team might be ripped apart from European or Mexican clubs (especially young players like Moreno that already has standout status), their triumph will remain in the history books forever.

The same goes for their opponent. Despite not bringing their best performance onto the pitch last night, they played a wonderful campaign. Nobody in the world would have expected Independiente del Valle to make it to the Copa Libertadores final, yet there they were. Their brave performances gave a lot of hope and distraction to Ecuador's people after what they had to deal with outside of football pitches.

Videos

Here are some videos for you: Team entry + anthems, match highlights and celebration.

Thank you!

Lastly, I want to say thank you to everyone that followed this season's Copa Libertadores here on Germancopa. I will be back covering next season's edition for sure. Until then, we will have a lot of Copa Sudamericana and league football from Uruguay and Argentina. 

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All tied up after first leg of Copa Libertadores final

For the first time since 1991, no team from Argentina or Brazil made it to the final of the Copa Libertadores. Instead, surprise team Independiente del Valle from Ecuador hosted Colombia's Atlético Nacional, who had marched through the competition with impressive performances thus far. 

The atmosphere before the game in Ecuador (Photo: tdn_twit on Twitter).

The night was started off by the usual atmospheric highlights in Quito. Independiente moved to the national stadium for this big game, considering their small home ground. Fireworks were shooting into the sky, while more fans had their lighters and phones out to bring some goosebumps across the TV screens at home. A large Ecuadorian flag was rolled out across the far side stand, presenting the colours of a country that had been hit by a huge natural disaster only months ago. 

A true Cinderella story is exactly what Independiente del Valle is all about. Back when their semifinal opponent Boca Juniors last won the Copa Libertadores in 2007, they were still playing third division football in their home country. Slowly but surely, they moved their way up and show that often you just need a good strategy and smart minds to be successful, especially on a continent like South America, which is still more even than Europe's crazy football world. 

Atlético Nacional on the other hand won the competition before, all the way back in 1989. With players such as René Hiquita or Andrés Escobar, the Colombians beat Paraguay's Club Olimpia on penalties after nullifying a 0-2 decifit from the first away leg. Currently, you can pretty surely call them the best team in South America. They dominated throughout the group stages without conceding a single goal and were seeded #1 for the knockout rounds. After beating Huracán, Rosario Central and Sao Paulo FC, they found themselves in the final deservedly. 

In typical South American chaos fashion, the Ecuadorian football association asked Independiente to play a league game which had previously been called off on Wednesday morning, the same day of the Copa Libertadores final. The laughable decision was reacted to with a youth team that lost 2-5 to El Nacional. Tonight's opponents also mainly played their reserves in the last league outing at home against Deportes Tolima, drawing 2-2.

The actual game

With the start of the final itself, we received a little rain from above, leaving the players all options to play good football though. The first better opportunity came within the first five minutes for the Ecuadorian home team when the Angulo's broke through Atlético's defense for the first time. Julio found José with a decent pass, but the shot of the striker went just wide. 

A first attempt for the visitors came soon after when striker Miguel Borja, after having scored four times (!) in the semifinal, fired from a far distance and saw his shot saved comfortably by opposing goalkeeper Librado Azcona. 

While 3000 visiting fans produced a nice setting along with the strong home support, the game itself turned into a midfield battle relatively quickly. Even though Atlético Nacional had most of the ball, they could not find a way through a well-organized defensive line of Independiente. The teams neutralized themselves, which is clearly nothing for the neutral viewer. 

20 minutes in, the biggest chance of the game so far for the hosts: A freekick from the right was deflected onwards by a Colombian defender and hit the head of surprised Arturo Mina. He could not direct it any further, which saw the ball fly right into the open arms of Franco Armani. Shortly after, Mina convinced on the other side of the pitch as well, when stopping the ever dangerous Borja with an excellent tackle. 

Orlando Berrio scored the opener (second from left, Photo: espnfc.com)

Atlético's #10 MacNelly Torres started to gain a little too much space in midfield for his passes. After 36 minutes, the 31-year old made it count. He found Orlando Berrio on the edge of the area. The striker went some more metres, keeping the upper hand against the defense's desperate clearing attempts before finishing strongly into the bottom right corner. An absolute beauty to make it 0-1 on the night and leave the visiting fans in ecstasy. 

While the lead was not really deserved by any clear means, it gave Atlético the necessary calmness in their decision making and they had the match under control a bit more comfortably now. Top talent Marlos Moreno nearly made it 2-0 before halftime, but his shot that caught Azcona way outside his goal just flew over the bar. 

Second half

Independiente del Valle now had their work cut out for them in the second half, having to attack while also not being too open at the back. Half chances for Bryan Cabezas and Junior Sornoza was all the Ecuadorians could manage before the hour mark. In fairness, Atlético Nacional defended really well now and stopped their opponents from being dangerous at all. 

As time continued to pass and Independiente kept being chanceless, coach Pablo Repetto had to react. He brought on Jonny Uchuari and Jonathan Gonzalez for Cabezas and Julio Angulo. Both of them had been extremely quiet on the night, compared to their previous performances in the competition. 

A game that kept getting worse and worse was about to be over in ten minutes after an extremely poor second half which was not final worthy. Noone really expected anything to happen anymore and they were wrong. The home team actually managed to strike back and make it a game again after 87 minutes. A long freekick near the centre circle by Junior Sornoza went high all the way into the area. Armani, expecting a striker to get a touch of the ball still, could only let the ball bounce forward as it hit him. Arturo Mina tried to score once and was denied by Armani, but on the second attempt the goalkeeper had no chance to keep the centre-back out anymore. 

A late equalizer gives Independiente del Valle a large moral boost and every chance in the second leg. However, Atlético Nacional will not be too unhappy with the result either, as it sees them move back home requiring a win or a 0-0 draw. They surely have the potential to seal it at home.

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Video highlights

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Just one goal - Guerrero in Peru's record books

Last evening marked day 2 of the Copa América Centenario. While most teams failed to convince or even score a goal, Peru's Paolo Guerrero set a new record for his country.

The first game was played between Costa Rica and Paraguay and that was pretty much all there is to say about that. Not many supporters came out to support the teams in 32°C hot Orlando. Understandably, the game was not very fast and lacked cutting edge chances throughout the 90 minutes, before lastly finishing 0-0. 

A game that was very aggressive in the opening stages started off with a yellow card for Costa Rica's Yeltsin Tejeda inside the first 25 seconds. Solid chances came from headers alone, Bryan Ruiz saw his attempt saved comfortably by Colo Colo's Justo Villar. On the other end, Dario Lezcano, who had previously convinced for his country in the World Cup qualification, headed on target himself, but could not find the back of the net either. 

At the end of the night, Kendall Watson set the appropriate Latin American end to the game by getting himself sent off in added time with a straight red card. With their one point after the first game, both Costa Rica and Paraguay move into second place in Group A. They trail Colombia (3) and find themselves ahead of the USA (0). 

Paolo Guerrero, Peru's record goalscorer. (Photo: picture alliance)

The only goal of the Copa América night was scored by Peru. Who else but Paolo Guerrero would be the one to convert? With his 61st minute goal, the Flamengo striker wrote history, moving past Peruvian legend Teofilo Cubillas for most goals ever scored for his country (27). 

Outsiders Haiti did not stand a big chance against their South American opponent, collecting just one shot on target throughout the 90 minutes. Before Guerrero even scored, it could have been Peru in the lead already, but Edison Flores only hit the post on the brink of halftime. Going into the second half, Peru kept their dominance up and were rightfully rewarded through Guerrero's header from 5 metres after a nice cross from the left side.

Peru continued to be the better team and ended up celebrating their first three points of the tournament. Haiti simply find themselves where everyone expected them, the experience of playing the Copa América will still be a valuable one for the team. 

(Photo: conmebol.com)

Over in Pasadena, Brazil entered the competition with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador. They were lucky in the process, as a good goal for their opponents seconds into the second half was not given by the refereeing team. They had seen the ball cross the goalline, before Alisson turned it into his own net. 

While the Brazilians looked superior, the statistics that actually matter look grim for the record World Champions. Despite their ton of possession and excellent passing success, they never managed to find the dangerous areas on the field, ending up with a total of two shots on target. Not good enough for a team that severely missing their stars like Neymar and Douglas Costa's speed up front.

Philippe Coutinho tried his luck early (6'), Lucas late (84'), none of them could find the back of the net past Javier Dreer. By the final whistle, everyone was somewhat happy for the game to be over, just Ecuador felt like they should have won. They meet Peru in their next outing, while Brazil face Haiti in their attempt to reach their first three points.

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Copa Libertadores - Quarterfinal preview

Back on February 2, the Copa Libertadores season started with the first round. Ever since then, we moved through group stages and the round of 16 to now await the quarterfinals of this year's competition. Here are all the previews.

Rosario Central - Atlético Nacional

Atlético Nacional's atmospheric home ground. (Photo: ecbloguer.com)

The best team of the group stages, Atlético Nacional, had a little scare against Huracán, but went through with a little luck at the end of the day (4-2 on aggregate). Going to Argentina in the first leg, I am not sure you can still call them the favourites. Rosario Central, after struggling back home in the league in recent weeks, dominated Grêmio completely and knocked them out 4-0 on aggregate. 

Particularly striker star Marco Rubén is slowly but surely regaining his top form if he ever lost it. Three of the four goals scored by Central in the round of 16 came from him. Nevertheless, Central needs a strong game at home in the first leg to build a good foundation ahead of the difficult travel to Colombia a week later. Can they do it? That is for certain. 

The first leg will be played at the Gigante de Arroyito on May 13, 2:45am CET. Atlético Nacional's home leg will take place on May 20 at the same unfortunate time. 

Prediction: A narrow win for Rosario Central. Their individual class, especially their offense, will make the difference in the end. 

São Paulo FC - Atlético Mineiro

A special night can be expected in São Paulo's Morumbi stadium. (Photo: saopaulofc.net)

An all Brazilian clash sees the two remaining sides of the country face each other. If you are a positive person, you will be happy that at least one team from the large football nation makes it to the semifinals for sure. Whichever way you look at it, São Paulo could not convince too much in the round of 16 against Toluca. After smashing them 4-0 in the first leg, the Mexicans nearly made things exciting again with a 3-1 return win. 

With Jonathan Calleri back in the lineup and the team slowly but surely improving its form, São Paulo will have a chance to get a win over their opponents. However, Atlético Mineiro have been the best Brazilian team so far and managed to knock out Argentina's Racing Club in the past round (2-1 on aggregate). Robinho and Pratto have been brilliant and will look to get on the scoresheet again against their countrymen. 

São Paulo's home game will be played at the Morumbi stadium on May 12 at 2:45am CET. The return leg in Belo Horizonte is scheduled for May 19 at 2:45am CET. 

Prediction: Atlético Mineiro probably have the best shot at winning the competition since their triumph in 2013. They will make it past São Paulo FC to face the winner of Atlético Nacional - Rosario Central.

Independiente del Valle - Pumas UNAM

The Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa is ready for Independiente del Valle. (Photo: enquito.com.ec)

Mexico's lonely survivor is facing a surprise team in the quarterfinals. Stunning title holders River Plate with a 2-1 (aggregate) victory, Independiente del Valle relied on at times spectacular goalkeeping. Noone expected them in the quarterfinals, even less after the tragedies in Ecuador. They do not care about expectations and are one of the every-year surprises in the competition.

Independiente's games have all been low scoring ones, minus a 3-2 win over Atlético Mineiro. Despite that fact, Ecuador's team has one of the competition's top goalscorers in Junior Sornoza. His five goals rank 4th among all players. Pumas counter with a top scorer themselves. Ismael Sosa even managed to find the back of the net six times, one of them in the all important 2-0 win over Deportivo Táchira which sealed a place among the last 8 in South America (2-1 agg.).

The first leg in Quito will be played on May 18 at 2:45am CET. The decisive second match takes place in Pumas' Estadio Olímpico Universitario on May 25 (2:45am CET).

Prediction: Independiente del Valle theoretically have no business being here, yet they are. I am still going with Pumas, mainly due to their home strength in Mexico. You can never count out the odd outsider in the Copa Libertadores though.

Nacional - Boca Juniors

Nacional can hopefully count of their support at the Gran Parque Central. (Photo: nacional.uy)

Uruguay's champion has not reached this round since back in 2009. They have a great matchup on their hands as they face the iconic Boca Juniors. While Nacional have been extremely tough to beat (just one loss when they were in the round of 16 already), they do not win a lot either so far. Two wins in group 2, both against Palmeiras, have been it so far. Two draws were enough to get by Corinthians in the past round (2-2 on aggregate). Once again, the Uruguayans will rely on Nico López up front and Esteban Conde who saved them in Brazil as their last backline.

Boca have not lost a single game yet and come into the quarterfinals on a five-game winning streak. In fairness, their opponents have not been the greatest most recently and Cerro Porteño (5-2 on aggregate) were no real indicator of the team's actual strength. Either way, Carlos Tévez has slowly been finding his form and collected 2 goals and 2 assists in the round of 16. Despite their international success, Boca have tremendous injury trouble, especially in midfield where they lost Nicolás Lodeiro most recently.

It is not sure yet, if the game can be played at the Gran Parque Central due to Boca's away support. If not, the Centenario is ready, but it is clearly not Nacional's home ground. The first leg is being played in Uruguay on May 13 at 0:30am CET. The return leg takes place in Argentina on May 20, 0:15am CET. Yay for somewhat European friendly times!

Prediction: Both teams have played great campaigns for their standards so far and look to make it to the last four. Boca will be favourite, but if Nacional can get a result back home, they know how to defend it. They did not lose any away game yet. One thing that is for certain: it will be close.

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Defending champions on verge of elimination

River Plate's result crisis seems to find no end. Last night, they lost 2-0 away to Independiente del Valle and find themselves on the verge of elimination after the first leg of their round of 16 matchup already.

Librado Azcona celebrates his team's goals. (Photo: Conmebol)

It was the first game back in Ecuador after many earthquakes had kept the country on its toes for several days. Independiente's stadium was nicely filled and sporting a positive atmosphere for their countries' only survivor in the Copa Libertadores.

Personnel

Independiente del Valle made one change from their 0-0 draw against Colo Colo which got them to the round of 16 in the first place. Bryan Cabezas replaces Emiliano Tellechea. For River, Marcelo Gallardo made two swaps to their starting XI. Lucas Alario and Ignacio Fernández were replaced by Sebastián Driussi and Leonardo Ponzio.

First half

The home team produced the better start with the first few shots towards Marcelo Barovero's goal. Sornoza and Angulo were denied or lacked the right finish during the early stages. River came closest when Andrés D'Alessandro lobbed a ball from midfield over the complete home defense, but Driussi arrived a step too late.

Independiente were the better team of the first half, but could not make it count on their few half chances. More was not in this game through 45 minutes.

Second half

The second half began like the first one ended. Independiente risked more offensively, always in danger of running into a counter. Arroyo, Angulo and Sornoza had opportunities going wide for Ecuador's side, as did Ponzio and Driussi for the Argentines on the other side.

For all the precision that was heavily lacking throughout the first hour, José Angulo did things a lot better after 64 minutes. River lost the ball going forward to Luis Caicedo, who passed it on to Sornoza. His long pass to the left wing opened up a lot of room for the run of Cabezas. The speedy cross was missed by all defenders and landed right on Angulo's foot. Independiente's striker made no mistake and nailed the ball right under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead against the favourites.

Gallardo reacted by bringing on Lucas Alario right away, but an effect could not be seen until the last 10 minutes for the final offense, mainly through Rodrigo Mora. Instead, Barovero had to make further fine saves against the likes of Uchuari and Sornoza for the time being.

In the third minute of added time, it was Independiente del Valle putting one foot into the quarterfinal door by scoring their second goal of the night. The Ecuadorians played a good counter and Tellechea was brought down by Maidana. Junior Sornoza shot right down the middle and finally got his deserved goal on this evening. Shortly after, the referee blew for full-time.

Analysis

A deserved win for Independiente del Valle, who were simply the better team across the pitch. Sornoza played a key role up front and scored his fifth goal of the competition. Whether it looks the same over at El Monumental in the second leg is another question. River definitely have to find a way to generate more pressure against an - on paper - weaker opponent. Leaving Mora and Alario on the bench was a mistake by Gallardo and cannot happen again, if his team wants to have any chance of turning this tie around to defend their crown.

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Boca take over group lead, River struggles continue

Aside from Grêmio's triumph over LDU Quito, there were five more games in the Copa Libertadores last night. Here is a summary of all of them. 

Nico Lodeiro after his late goal. (Photo: Conmebol)

Boca Juniors visited Racing Club in an all-Argentine duel. In front of Racing supporters who were in fine voice, a relatively even game developed. Both teams did not threaten their opponent's goal too much during the first half. Boca's best chance came through Carlos Tévez' shot into the side netting, while Racing had a penalty shout turned down by the referee Carlos Vera from Ecuador. First, Gustavo Bou was fouled by Pablo Pérez inside the area, only for the Boca man to handle the ball right after. The visitors were extremely lucky in this scene. 

As we went tied into the second half, Boca was the slightly better team and had further chances through Frank Fabra. The 25-year old Colombian played a fine game on the left side and advanced forward dangerously on multiple occasions, including an offside goal. Racing seemed to have accepted their point and did not commit too many men forward anymore. A mistake, as it turned out.

Fernando Gago played the ball out to the right side, finding the run of Cristian Pavón. His speedy cross was deflected on by Pablo Pérez' heel and found the foot of Nicolás Lodeiro. The Uruguayan midfielder could not miss from centimetres in front of the goalline and handed his team the victory after 84 minutes. 

Boca Juniors now lead Group 3 with 9 points, ahead of Racing's 8. Bolívar (4) follows and basically plays a must-win game against Deportivo Cali (2) tonight.

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Grêmio kills last hope for San Lorenzo

A lot of Copa Libertadores action last night and some further participants of the round of 16 were decided. One team that did not play and still got eliminated: 2014 champion San Lorenzo.

It was thanks to Brazilian club Grêmio Porto Alegre, that San Lorenzo can watch the round of 16 in front of the television for a second straight year. Grêmio beat LDU Quito 3-2 away in Ecuador and advance to the next stage themselves.

Bobô, scorer of Grêmio's second goal. (Photo: Conmebol)

Douglas (13') and Bobô (26') gave the visitors an early 2-0 lead that held until halftime. Throughout the game, the result remained unrepresentative of the actual events on the pitch. Álvaro Gutierrez' Quito did really well controlling the game for the most part and creating the larger amount of opportunities. Their biggest chance of the first half came after 28 minutes, but Edson Puch's artistic effort went wide.

Right at the start of the second half their efforts finally paid off. José Quinteros was there to finish off a fantastic attack when Grêmio were still in their dressing room and cut the lead in half (46'). The pitch itself was extremely difficult last night, as it had rained a lot in Ecuador, making precise passing an ever so big challenge for both sides. 

Even the soaky field did not stop Wallace top produce an absolute golazo after 53 minutes though. His screamer from the edge of the area went right into the top left corner and extended Grêmio's lead back to two goals. Even if goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez did not look good there punching the ball right onto Wallace's foot, it is hard to blame him for such a great finish. 

LDU Quito kept applying pressure until the end, despite already being eliminated from the competition. They wanted to put on a show for the supporters that came to the stadium to see them play and finally got a second and final goal after 77 minutes. José Cevallos Jr. fired a shot from distance that fooled everybody, including goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe and went in at the far post. Just before, Grohe had come up with a spectacular 1v1 foot save on Carlos Tenorio. 

At the end, Grêmio got away with all three points, giving them a total of 8 and a ticket to the round of 16. They are being joined by group winners Deportivo Toluca (13), while San Lorenzo (3) and LDU Quito (3) remain at the bottom before the last matchday. 

In particular San Lorenzo will be disappointed. After a dreadful 2015 campaign, they had hope to get back on track in 2016, but stayed winless (!) in five matches. That is simply not good enough for the big Argentine club, whether they have a new coach or not.

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River score six, spectacle in Rosario

The Copa Libertadores did not disappoint in its return for the second night in a row. Yesterday, 24 goals were scored in 5 games and Germancopa has you covered on all of them.

4.8 goals per game would be a pretty decent number, right? Title holders River Plate kicked things off the past night and did not show their league face at all. While struggling heavily home in Argentina, River lead their Libertadores Group 1 comfortably. They beat The Strongest 6-0.

Andrés D'Alessandro.

It was a first half for the ages in El Monumental, as River struck five times in the first 45 minutes alone. Andrés D'Alessandro (14'), Ignacio Fernández (26'), Camilo Mayada (30'), Emanuel Mammana (42') and Lucas Alario (45') were the goalscorers early on. As you guessed by now, the Bolivian visitors did not have the slightest chance and were outplayed by their opponents from start to finish.

In particular the first one from D'Ale was beautifully created and the offensive midfielder himself could show his full qualities. First he went by three defenders and played a lovely pass to Mayada. He backheeled the ball towards D'Alessandro and the Argentine finished into the near side with a precise poke. Expectedly, Andrés D'Alessandro's celebration was very emotional after scoring his first goal back in a River shirt.

The Strongest had their best chance when it was 3-0 against them already, but Iván Alonso's brother Matías shot it wide across the face of goal. Iván himself came on towards the end of the game to have a brother's duel in the Copa Libertadores.

Ignacio Fernández added his second goal in the 83rd minute to give River their 6-0 victory and maybe a catapult out of their crisis. The round of 16 is very close for them (8 points), but The Strongest are not done either despite their heavy loss. They hold on to the second spot (7), followed by São Paulo (5) and Trujillanos (1, eliminated).

Prolific figure in Rosario: Palmeiras' Gabriel. (Photo: es-us.deportes.yahoo.com)

In Group 2, Rosario Central was involved in yet another goal spectacle this season. Against Brazilian cup winners Palmeiras, the Argentines drew 3-3.

Gabriel Jesus was the man of the first half for the visiting team as he scored two goals. One came early (5'), after a disastrous back pass from Damián Musto right into the run of Gabriel. Musto knew it as soon as it left his foot, but there was nothing anyone could do anymore. His second goal came right at the brink of halftime via header (45'+1), assisted by Robinho's freekick cross. It was a little surprising at the time, because Central had started to dominate about 15 minutes in and equalized in the meantime through centre-back Alejandro Donatti's deflected freekick (33').

Still, it went to halftime with a lucky Brazilian lead. Central dominated the match with 70% possession and nice football, but at the end of the night, Palmeiras actually had the more precise attack which produced a higher amount of shots on target.

Gabriel nearly made completed his hattrick to start the second half, was only denied by the woodwork on his powerful attempt. Instead, Central got their deserved equalizer after 51 minutes through one of their young talented offensive midfielders, Franco Cervi. Teammate Gustavo Colman produced a lovely freekick variation into the horizontal run of Cervi who was simply forgotten by Palmeiras' defenders.

The visitors brought on Lucas Barrios up front and Zé Roberto for defensive insurance, but it backfired for the time being. Referee Olmedo awarded Central a penalty after Musto was pulled down in the area. If anyone gets on the scoresheet regularly for Rosario Central, it is striker Marco Rubén and he left no doubts today either with his penalty into the bottom right corner (67').

The Argentines had the game where they wanted it now, but gave the lead away again just ten minutes later. Despite having the numerical advantage after Gabriel's brainless red card (74'), substitute Lucas Barrios was found all alone on Egidio's freekick and produced the final score of 3-3.

Rosario Central and Nacional have 8 points, while Palmeiras follows them with 5. At the bottom are Uruguay's River Plate with 2 points. A point tonight for Nacional gets them into the round of 16.

Elsewhere in the Copa Libertadores

Independiente del Valle surprised Atlético Mineiro with a 3-2 home victory. Man of the match was Junior Sornoza who scored two goals and therefore put the game out of Atlético's reach. Group 5 sees both teams close to advancing (10 points each), as Colo Colo (5) have a must-win game against Melgar ahead of them to have any chance.

After a 0-1 away lead, Olimpia could not hold onto their lead in Mexico. Already advanced Pumas UNAM scored four on their Paraguayan opponents in the second half. Ismael Sosa found the back of the net for the fifth time in the competition this year and leads the way along with Jonathan Calleri. In Venezuela, they also celebrated Pumas' win, because it puts Deportivo Táchira through to the next round, while Emelec and Olimpia have to go home.

Finally, Santa Fe and Corinthians met in Group 8. It remains led by the Brazilian side after a 1-1 draw in Colombia last night. Antony Otero gave Santa Fe the lead (45'), which was equalized by Elías after 58 minutes. Cerro Porteño have a game in hand against the pointless Chileans from Cobresal and can move into a round of 16 spot in the upcoming week.

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Toluca advance, Táchira close to round of 16

Aside from São Paulo's impressive win over Trujillanos, three other games were played last night. One team advanced to the round of 16 in the process.

Ernesto Vega celebrates scoring his goal. (Photo: conmebol.com)

Deportivo Toluca are the third team to advance to the Copa Libertadores round of 16. Despite falling behind 0-1 on the night, they managed to win their home game against LDU Quito 2-1. For the first time, the Ecuadorian visitors were coached by Uruguayan Álvaro Gutierrez. The former Nacional coach relied on the services of Edson Puch and the striker paid it back to him by scoring the opening goal. A right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area gave LDU the lead...

...which lasted for a minute. Carlos Rodríguez produced a lovely long cross into the area and while goalkeeper Domínguez did admireably well on the first header from Enrique Triverio, he was without a chance on Ernesto Vega's poacher's goal. Especially in those first 20 minutes, Quito were the better team and presented themselves improved early on. Eventually, the Mexicans took control and produced some more chances on home turf. 

The second half was contested very evenly and did not really deserve a winner tonight. Yet it was Toluca that found said winner in the 63rd minute. Christian Cueva lifted a freekick into the area from a central position, where it was headed on by Galindo to the wide open Triverio who would not miss from there and finished right underneath the crossbar. 

Toluca lead their Group 6 with 10 points, 5 ahead of Grêmio, followed by San Lorenzo and LDU Quito. Both bottom clubs have 3 points so far. 

Huracán could rely on Ramón Abila yet again. (Photo: conmebol.com)

Following a 4-2 victory over Sporting Cristal, Argentina's Huracán have moved into a round of 16 position. The stadium in Buenos Aires was sadly quite empty for this one and early on it seemed like the fans' scepticism was justified. Cristal took a 16th minute lead through Santiago Silva. The Peruvian striker did extremely well after receiving a well-timed pass from his teammate Ávila. 

Huracán was a little shocked for a while and gave up quite a few big scoring opportunities for Sporting Cristal by misplacing passes around their own area. Still, they had the game turned around inside half an hour through who else but Ramón Abila. The big striker struck twice to get his goal total up to four this Copa Libertadores season. First, he scored with his right foot (24'), jumping onto a loose ball in typical Abila fashion, then with his left (30'), showing off his lovely control before leaving no doubts about his finish. 

Peru's vice champion would not give up that easily though. They equalized right before halftime. Horacio Calcaterra did his best Abila impression and was there when goalkeeper Díaz could not hold onto the ball. He fired it high into the net for a 2-2 score at the break.

As the game went on, Huracán were a little better defensively, which ultimately kept them out of the same trouble they experienced in the first 45. Nevertheless, when looking at the match statistics, you can see Sporting Cristal amounting more shots than the home team. Surely an achievement the Peruvians must be applauded for against a team that did really well in Argentina's Primera División so far this season. 

After 68 minutes, El Globo retook the lead through Alejandro Romero. Montenegro, who had a really good game in midfield, laid the ball out to the wing, from where Abila crossed to Romero. His shot was well-placed, but looked like it could have been saved by Diego Penny. 

Ezequiel Miralles' header (84') ended the last doubts as to who would leave the pitch as winner tonight. Mauro Bogado found the substitute with a decent freekick cross from the right and Miralles scored with his first touch of the game. Huracán will take their win, Cristal feel a little hard done by. The home team's efficiency was the key to their success on the day and puts them above the Peruvians in the table as well. 

Huracán have 6 points, Cristal have 4. They both trail Atlético Nacional (12), but stay ahead of Peñarol (1).

Deportivo Táchira celebrate their winning goal. (Photo: conmebol.com)

An indirect freekick was all Deportivo Táchira needed to get by Emelec. Wilker Ángel scored the winning goal 21 minutes in, after the Venezuelans created a lot of confusion among Emelec's defenders. At the end, the ball was tapped to Ángel whose shot was deflected into the bottom right corner. 

Emelec was the slightly better team on the night, which did not help them. The 1-0 loss eliminates them from the Copa Libertadores this season. Surely a disappointment for the ambitioned Ecuadorians. If Pumas beat Olimpia or draw tonight (5am CET), Deportivo Táchira will advance to the round of 16, joining the already qualified Mexicans from Group 7. 

Both have 9 points currently, while the bottom two, Olimpia and Emelec, have 4.

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Uruguay top South American World Cup Qualification

Uruguay has taken over top spot of Conmebol's World Cup qualification group last night. After a 1-0 win over Peru, the first World Champion is on track on their way to Russia 2018.

Mauricio Victorino celebrates Uruguay's success. (All photos: Conmebol)

Uruguay hosted Peru at the Estadio Centenario with a chance to go top of the qualification group and they did just that. An Edinson Cavani goal in the 53rd minute was all it took to get by Claudio Pizarro and Co. 

Despite the relatively narrow margin of victory, Uruguay deserved their home win. They were the better team overall and could have scored more frequently in the first half but Alvaro Pereira saw his biggest chance, a header from short distance, get deflected against the crossbar. On the other side, it was Paulo Guerrero who stood wide open in front of Fernando Muslera's goal, only to be denied magnificently. 

As always, Uruguay's set pieces had huge danger potential, despite the absence of Atlético Madrid's centre-back duo Godín/Giménez. Players such as Coates stepped up and did managed their defensive duties in predominantly fine fashion. 

Finally, it was El Matador Cavani who gave his team the lead. Luis Suárez produced a wonderful assist right into the run of his striking partner. The PSG striker remained as cold as ice and fired it high into the net. 

The Copa América record champions had further chances to put the game to bed early on in the second half, but could not find another quality finish, as the likes of Carlos Sánchez and Edinson Cavani struggled to hit the target. It has to be concluded that Peru still is just not good enough to qualify for a World Cup tournament. Despite their best efforts last night, they lost deservedly and stand empty-handed yet again. 

Uruguay have 13 points in 1st, Peru are 8th with 4 points.

Man of the match: Carlos Bacca.

It was Ecuador, who led the Qualifiers before matchweek 6, but they really struggled for the first time by losing away to Colombia, 3-1. 

Colombia fully deserved their success, as they dominated their visitors as they pleased. Carlos Bacca scored twice (15', 67') and gave his squad a 3-0 lead along with Sebastian Perez' strike (48'). It was added time already when substitute Michael Arroyo cut into the 3-goal lead and gave his disappointing Ecuadorians at least something to cheer about.

The loss is not a big deal position wise as Ecuador are still 2nd with 13 points. Just their points advantage shrunk a lot over the last two matches. Instead, Colombia won twice and find themselves in 5th (the playoff position) with 10 points.

Lionel Messi celebrates his goal.

Over in Argentina, the World Cup runner-up celebrated a much needed three points against Bolivia. The guests were as bad as expected away from home and did not stand the slightest chance away in Córdoba. 

The goals were scored early on by River Plate's Gabriel Mercado (20') and a penalty from Leo Messi after half an hour. Argentina finished the match with 75% possession and 19-3 shots, which tells pretty much all the story of this game. 

Argentina go 3rd with 11 points, while Bolivia are 9th with 3. 

2 for 2: Arturo Vidal and Mauricio Pinilla both scored twice.

Chile produced a great comeback away to Venezuela, beating the hosts 4-1. 

Romulo Otero gave his Venezuelans another early lead after just nine minutes. But once more, his team could not hold onto it. Mauricio Pinilla took it on himself to turn the game around for the struggling Roja. He scored twice, one before halftime (33'), once after (52'). Arturo Vidal went on to do the same later on in his return from a yellow card suspension. Bayern's midfielder scored after 72 minutes and in added time to open up a 3-goal lead towards the end. 

Chile celebrate a very important win after their loss to Argentina and now sit 4th with 10 points. Venezuela fail to win again and remain last with just a single point.

Dani Alves strikes late to give Brazil a point.

Last but not least, it was Brazil's turn. The 5-time World Champion disappointed without the suspended Neymar away in Paraguay. 

The first half and some more minutes fully belonged to Paraguay who surprised Brazil with decent football and found an opener through yet another goal from Dario Lezcano (40'). When Edgar Benitez made it 2-0 right after the break (49'), it started to look very grim for Dunga's team. 

Finally, maybe an hour in, the visitors began to dominate the game and continued to produce a higher amount of chance, only to be rewarded very late. Ricardo Oliveira (79') and Dani Alves (90'+2) came to the rescue of a Brazilian side that still needs a lot of improvement ahead of the summer's Copa América. 

Brazil and Paraguay both have 9 points and sit in 6th and 7th, outside of a qualification spot.

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Last minute goal galore in South America

World Cup Qualification continued last night with matchweek 5 in South America. All teams aside from Brazil and Uruguay, who face each other tonight, were in action. Here is how it went for them.

Captain steps up: Colombia's goalscorer James Rodríguez.

It all started in the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz, where Bolivia wanted to play out their altitude advantage (3600m above sea level) against Colombia, but failed to do so. Being down 0-2 at halftime through lovely goals from James Rodríguez (10') and Carlos Bacca (41'), Bolivia managed to fight back early in the second half.

Juan Arce converted a penalty (50'), before The Strongest' Copa Libertadores hero Alejandro Chumacero struck again, this time for his country. While Colombia felt to be disadvantaged by the referee in the buildup to the goal, the midfielder's strike was simply fantastic. Goalkeeper David Ospina, who made several big saves in the second half to keep his team in it, laid horizontally in the air and still did not have the slightest chance (63').

Bolivia kept pushing forward, but lacked a significant amount of precision towards the end. Instead, it was the visitors that stole all three points from this away game in the 92nd minute. Substitute Marlos Moreno assisted Edwin Cardona with a fantastic pass and the other substitute Cardona made no mistake and finished it into the bottom right corner.

A draw might have reflected this game a little better, but Bolivia did not pay the necessary attention right before the end. It is a big three away points for Colombia, whereas Bolivia cannot even build on their home advantage anymore, having lost 2 of 3 at the Hernando Siles.

Brace for his Albirroja: Dario Lezcano.

Over in Quito, Ecuador wanted to build on their outstanding start into the qualification campaign with a fifth win in as many games. They came close, but at the end, Paraguay snuck out a point in a 2-2 draw.

It all started well for the group leaders, when Enner Valencia gave the hosts a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Ecuador dominated throughout the game, but failed to make it count in a decisive manner. Instead, San Lorenzo's Néstor Ortigoza ripped open the defense with the pass of the game and after receiving the low cross from the left, all Dario Lezcano had to do was pushing it over the line (38').

A well played counter became Ecuador's problem yet again in the second half. Once more, they committed many men forward and Paraguay made the most of it through Lezcano for a second time. Ingolstadt's striker struggled a bit to get the ball under control, but his shot into the left hand corner was a great one (59').

Ecuador kept pushing and pushing and finally, after 92 minutes, found an equalizer. Subsitute Ángel Mena was played through by Christian Noboa and won his country a more than deserved point. Gustavo Quinteros' team continues to do well (13 points) and remains on top of South America after week 5. But well done to Paraguay too, who already have 8 points.

Winning goal: Ángel di María.

Argentina had previously struggled and only won a single game so far, but the return of captain Lionel Messi from injury sparked a 2-1 victory over Chile in the Copa América final revenge.

Chile had not lost at home since 2012 and it did not seem like they would anytime soon either after they took the lead inside 10 minutes. Felipe Gutiérrez' powerful header from a Fabián Orellana corner left Sergio Romero no chance whatsoever. Argentina was under a lot of pressure right after the goal, only to profit from Chile's injury struggles in the following scenes.

Mati Fernández had to go off after just 7 minutes and when Marcelo Díaz received treatment, Kun Agüero and Éver Banega worked themselves into the penalty area. The ball fell onto the foot of Ángel di María and he produced a sweet finish into the far corner (19').

Five minutes later, when Chile was still trying to get organized after two early injuries, Argentina struck again. Nicolás Otamendi headed the ball towards Messi who just got his foot to it and found River's full back Gabriel Mercado. In his third game for Argentina, Mercado scored his first goal with a turnaround shot (24').

The Chileans started well into the second half and it did not take long for Alexis Sánchez to have the best chance of the game, only to see it go wide. Another time, Orellana was denied by Romero, but in general, it was Argentina who came closer to a third goal now by exposing the spaces Chile had to leave them inevitably.

La Roja tried their best, but Argentina's defense just stood solid and did not give up any huge chances anymore. The visitors ended up celebrating big three points away from Santiago. It gives them 8 in the campaign and things are starting to look a little brighter for Gerardo Martino's men. Chile have just 7 points so far.

Late hero: Raúl Ruidíaz. (All photos: conmebol.com)

If late comebacks were a theme yesterday, Peru were a big part of it as well. In the 94th minute, the Peruvians completed a comeback at home against Venezuela that gave them at least one point in a 2-2 draw.

It was Venezuela showing a bright start to the surprise of many, as their young team went to the break with a lead. Rómulo Otero scored from the spot (33') in a first half that saw Venezuela be the better team overall.

They continued pretty well in the second half and when Mikel Villanueva scored a second one after about an hour (57'), the visitors thought they might finally get to celebrate their first qualification win on the road to Russia 2018. Villanueva was first onto a Juanpi corner that went through everybody in the area and his bullet left goalkeeper Pedro Gallese no chance.

It was a substitution that changed the game completely after 60 minutes. Raúl Ruidíaz came on for oldstar Claudio Pizarro and inside a minute, Peru had life again. He laid the ball off on the edge of the area, finding Paulo Guerrero and the Flamengo striker profited of Alain Baroja's costly error. The 26-year old goalkeeper should have made that save without a doubt, but saw the strike go right through him.

Finally, in the 94th minute, Peru got their equalizer through who but Ruidíaz. The striker got his head on Edison Flores' lovely cross from the left and managed to win his team a point late. Peru had severely dominated ever since their first goal and really earned their fortune here.

Admittedly, a point does not help either team and it does not look good for Peru and Venezuela when it comes to their point total. Peru are in 8th with 4 points, Venezuela remain deadlast after winning their first point of the campaign.

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