Internacional and Santos FC are in possession of South America’s biggest stars and the last two champions of Copa Libertadores, but they didn’t play well on Wednesday.
Copa Libertadores 2012, Round Of 16: Bolivar Beat Santos, Flu Grab Away Draw
Santos FC might have the best players in South America, but talent alone doesn’t help anyone run for 90 minutes in La Paz, Bolivia. Just like when they had to play The Strongest in La Paz, Santos struggled on Wednesday night against Bolivar in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie. In the other tie that got underway this week, Fluminense took the advantage over Internacional.
Bolivar will be thrilled with their 2-1 win over Santos, but it’s unlikely to be enough to see them through. Santos were always going to struggle away in this tie, even against a team that isn’t nearly as talented, but kept the deficit to one goal and grabbed an away goal heading home to Brazil. Bolivar was obviously much more accustomed to the altitude to their opponents, getting off 18 shots to Santos’ six. This game was simply damage control for Santos, and their stars will probably look much better at home and pull off a comfortable win.
Read Article >Copa Libertadores 2012, Round Of 16: Two Ties Begin Wednesday
Neymar of Santos Futebol Clube celebrates his goal during the FIFA Club World Cup semi final match between Kashiwa Reysol and Santos at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, Japan.(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) Getty ImagesMost of the Round of 16 ties in the 2012 Copa Libertadores don’t kick off for another week, but two of them get underway on Wednesday. Three of the five Brazilian sides that have advanced are in action. One tie is a Brazilian-on-Brazilian clash, while the other features Neymar and Ganso leading their team into La Paz.
Wednesday, 8:50 p.m. ET
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