Paraguayan giants Libertad and Argentinian Primera Division club Arsenal di Sarandi both avoided upsets on Tuesday night and did enough to qualify for the group stages of the 2012 Copa Libertadores. Both will join already strong groups, and their victories could be just the first two of a clean sweep for the favored sides in the playoffs.
Copa Libertadores 2012, Playoff Round: Libertad, Arsenal Go Through
Libertad and Arsenal di Sarandi both advanced to the group stages of the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday night.
Libertad 4-1 El Nacional
Ecuadorian side El Nacional did well to grab a 1-0 home win in the first leg of the playoff series, but Libertad were at their best on Tuesday night as they quickly erased that deficit. Pablo Velazquez scored just one minute in on a howler goalkeeper by Danny Cruzelio, who was replaced at halftime, equalizing the tie. El Nacional bounced back with a 12th minute goal, but that only motivated the home side further, as they went on to score three more times. Jose Nuñez and Rodolfo Gamarra scored before the halftime break and Luciano Civelli added the exclamation point in stoppage time.
Sport Huancayo 1-1 Arsenal di Sarandi
After Arsenal’s 3-0 win at home, they hardly had to put their best foot forward in the away leg in Peru. Sergio Ibarra made things mildly interesting with a goal just before halftime, but his club failed to score again. Luciano Leguizamon scored in the 85th minute to end the tie.
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