Copa Libertadores 2012, Quarterfinals: Boca, Velez Post Big Results

Much like they have throughout the competition, Santos FC decided to not bring their best to a road game on Thursday night and more or less mail it in. Based on the fact that they lost to Bolivar on the road, then thrashed them 8-0 at home, it’s not exactly worth passing judgment on them. In any event, they looked nothing like the best version of themselves against Velez Sarsfield on Thursday, as the home side ran out 1-0 winners.

Santos, who have arguably the best collection of attacking talent on the continent, managed just two shots against Velez. The home side’s goal came from striker Mauro Obolo in the 35th minute, with a header on a cross by Emiliano Papa.

Boca Juniors are in control of their Copa Libertadores quarterfinal tie against Fluminense after they pulled off a 1-0 victory at home on Thursday night. Fluminense defender Carlinhos picked up two early yellow cards, going off in the 33rd minute to give Boca a massive advantage. This forced Fluminense to play a very defensive game. They were largely successful, but couldn’t keep a clean sheet.

Pablo Mouche scored the goal with a close-range header in the 51st minute, redirecting a cross from his strike partner Dario Cvitanich into the back of the net. Fluminense head back to Brazil without an away goal, and they might have trouble preventing Boca from grabbing one of their own with Carlinhos suspended for the second leg. At the same time, Boca will probably regret not extending their lead. Fluminense goalkeeper Diego had a great game and kept his team in the tie with his six saves.

On a rainy night in Rio De Janeiro, Corinthians and Vasco da Gama kicked a football for 90 minutes on a terrible, torn up, muddy excuse for a pitch. Very few people were amused by anything that took place in the game. The box score shows six shots on target for both teams, but don’t be fooled. Each goalkeeper only had to make one great save, and they came six minutes apart. Cassio made a diving stop on Eder Luis in the 54th minute and Fernando made a nice stop on Alex in the 60th minute. This was the most interesting period of the game, a 0-0 draw.

The bad news for Vasco da Gama is that they only managed a draw at home against a Corinthians team that probably beats them for raw talent. The good news is that they kept a clean sheet without their star central defender Dede in the lineup. He’s still out through injury, and even in a bad game on a terrible pitch, keeping a clean sheet against Corinthians without him is impressive.

Libertad took an early lead on defending Copa Sudamericana champions Universidad de Chile, but will be heading to Santiago as underdogs after they conceded in the second half. The Paraguayan side started the game aggressively, but turned slightly conservative after their opener and were made to pay for it. La U weren’t at their best on Wednesday night, but Jorge Sampaoli will be happy with the 1-1 draw his side got out of the match.

Victor Caceres, Libertad’s star netted the opener at the end of a nifty counter-attacking move. Pablo Velazquez started the attack with a great through ball to Jose Nuñez, who the La U defense was able to catch up to. Nuñez slammed on the brakes, then played a great backheel pass into the path of Luciano Civelli, who surged down the left flank before playing a cross into the center of the box. Caceres timed his late run perfectly and got onto the end of the ball, finishing off the chance to give his side a 7th minute lead.

Atletico Nacional, Bolivar and Deportivo Quito tried to spoil the Copa Libertadores party in the Round of 16, but all of the favored clubs came roaring back. The top six seeds all advanced to the quarterfinals, while the lower-seeded but historically bigger teams progressed out of the toss-up 8-9 and 7-10 matchups. The eight teams left in the competition are arguably the eight best teams on the continent. There are no underdogs.

Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. ET