Velez Sarsfield Vs. Libertad, 2011 Copa Libertadores: Velez In Control of Quarterfinal Tie With 3-0 Win

If Libertad are to advance to the semifinals of Copa Libertadores they will have to have quite a match when they return home for the second leg of their quarterfinal tie against Velez Sarsfield. From the start Velez was superior, led by the creativity of Ricardo Alvarez and finishing of Juan Manuel Martinez, and the home side came away 3-0 winners to take firm control of the tie. Now Velez merely needs a two-goal loss or better on Wednesday at Libertad to secure advancement.

Velez jumped ahead in the 20th minute when Augusto Fernandez intercepted a lazy pass on the right and was fouled. Fernandez fell, but quickly recovered and the referee played advantage. He played a low cross towards Martinez, who dummied and left it for Maxi Moralez to finish into an empty net and Velez were off and running.

Libertad did their best to control the center of the pitch and did a decent job of knocking the ball around for the remainder of the first half, but they lacked any creativity and Velez began to find the scintillating Alvarez, who was almost singlehandedly opening the field up for Velez every time he touched the ball.

In the second half Velez continued to find Alvarez. His threat pushed the Libertad defense and midfield deeper, making their task of leveling nearly impossible because they were so deep. Playing through Alvarez, Velez took complete control of the match and went ahead 2-0 when a clumsy challenge resulted in a clear-cut penalty. Martinez took it and finished well with the goalkeeper diving the opposite direction.

That wasn’t enough for Velez though and Martinez began the move that led to the third goal by finding Alvarez. With all eyes turned to Alvarez, he simply took a couple touches before threading a ball back to a sprinting Martinez, who was in alone on goal. Martinez unleashed a strong strike, but it was right at the keeper. Even so, Tobias Alvarez only put a weak hand on the ball and it went in for a 3-0 Velez lead, the scoreline that would hold until fulltime.