Thiago Ribeiro’s first-half hat-trick guided Brazil’s Cruzeiro to a 3-1 first-leg win over Nacional of Uruguay in the Copa Libertadores round-of-16 on Thursday.
In other first-leg matches, Diego Rivarola’s late goal gave Universidad de Chile a 1-0 win at Peru’s Alianza Lima, while 2004 champions Once Caldas of Colombia drew 0-0 with Libertad of Paraguay.
Cruzeiro, last year’s losing finalists, took the lead in the seventh minute against Nacional when Ribeiro got behind the defense and slotted through the legs of goalkeeper Rodrigo Munoz.
Ribeiro earned his second with a header in the 22nd minute and again found space behind the defense to complete his triple with a low strike from the edge of the box in the 42nd minute.
Mario Regueiro pulled a goal back for Nacional five minutes after halftime, but the Uruguayans face a difficult task overcoming the deficit in the return leg on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Universidad de Chile have a one-goal cushion ahead of their home leg after Rivarola capitalized on a mixup in the Alianza defense to race through and shoot high past goalkeeper George Forsyth in the 86th minute.
The return leg will be played in Santiago on Thursday.
The day’s final match saw surprise 2004 champions Once Caldas held to a goalless draw at home.
Roberto Gamarra hit the post for Libertad with a long-range drive following a free-kick in the 52nd minute and Victor Caceres’ deflected shot pounded the crossbar for Once Caldas in the 65th minute.
The return leg in Asuncion will also be played on Thursday.
The other first-leg results this week were San Luis 0, Estudiantes La Plata 1; Guadalajara 3, Velez Sarsfield 0; Universitario 0, Sao Paulo 0; Flamengo 1, Corinthians 0; and Banfield 3, Internacional 1.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS