Pumas qualify for round of 16, River thrash The Strongest
Pumas UNAM has qualified for the Copa Libertadores round of 16, advancing from Group 7 with a 4-1 win over Olimpia on Wednesday.
Pumas were down 1-0 at halftime, but goals from Gerardo Alcoba, Matias Britos, Eduardo Herrera and Ismael Sosa won the game for the home side.
Elsewhere, River Plate has assumed control of Group 1 with a 6-0 thrashing of The Strongest. The Argentine outfit was third in the group before kickoff but has moved into the top spot courtesy of its thrashing of the Bolivian side.
River had five goals before halftime from five different scorers. Andres D'Alessandro scored the opener after 14 minutes, before Ignacio Fernandez and Camilo Mayada made it 3-0 by the 30-minute mark. Emanuel Mammana and Lucas Alario added another two to make it 5-0 before the break.
The Strongest did its best to respond in the second half but rarely troubled River goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero, and it was Fernandez who completed the rout with his second of the game in the 83rd minute.
In Santa Fe, there were 16 minutes of added time at the end of the first half after a light failure forced a break in play during the club's 1-1 draw against Corinthians.
The home side avoided becoming too disjointed after the stoppage midway through the half and opened the scoring in the third added minute of the period through Antony Otero. Santa Fe could not maintain the lead, though, and had to settle for a point after Elias' 58th-minute equalizer.
Independiente del Valle moved level on points with Group 5 leader Atletico Mineiro after a superb first-half performance saw it win 3-2.
Bryan Cabezas put the home side 1-0 up only for Junior Urso to restore parity for the Brazilians, but that was shortlived as a first-half brace from Junior Sornoza ensured Independiente took a good advantage into the break. The second half proved nervy, but Independiente held its ground after Lucas Pratto converted a penalty to make it 3-2 just four minutes into the second half.
A first-half brace from Gabriel Jesus put Palmeiras in the lead against Rosario Central, only for Franco Cervi to equalize in the second half.
The match ended 3-3 after goals from Marco Ruben and Palmeiras' Lucas Barrios canceled each other out, the result enough to temporarily move Rosario into the top spot in Group 2.
