Arsenal de Sarandi made the perfect start to their Copa Libertadores playoff tie with a 3-0 first-leg win over Sport Huancayo.
A spot in the group stages alongside six-time winners Boca Juniors, Brazilian side Fluminense and Venezuelan outfit Zamora await the Argentine side if they can hold off Huancayo in the return leg in Peru.
Jorge Cordoba opened the scoring on 22 minutes before Arsenal found their second through Emilio Zelaya shortly before half-time at the Estadio Julio H. Grondona.
Arsenal had complete control of the match until Carlos Carbonero, making his debut for the club, was sent off on the hour mark.
However, the home side were not made to pay for their numerical disadvantage and instead added a third through substitute Claudio Mosca in the 88th minute.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorian club El Nacional will take the slenderest of leads into the second leg of their playoff after a 1-0 win over Peru's Libertad at Atahualpa in Quito.
Juan Anangono scored the only goal of the game two minutes from time and despite the hosts laying siege to Libertad's goal in the final 20 minutes, El Nacional could not find a second goal.
Libertad host El Nacional in the return leg on January 31.
1 - 0 |
||
2 - 0 |
||
3 - 0 |
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | C. Campestrini | |
| 21 | A. Gonzalez | |
| 15 | D. Pérez | |
| 3 | G. Burdisso | |
| 2 | L. López | |
| 19 | N. Aguirre |
 80'
|
| 23 | I. Marcone | |
| 7 |
J. Caffa
|
|
| 16 | C. Carbonero |
30'
 66'
|
| 11 |
E. Zelaya
|
 36'
|
| 9 |
J. Córdoba
|
22'
|
| Coach: G. Alfaro | ||
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | L. Cuerdo | |
| 7 | R. Farfán | |
| 22 | R. Reaños | |
| 24 | Román Ojeda | |
| 2 | A. Figueroa | |
| 11 | B. López | |
| 17 | A. Cruzado | |
| 23 |
L. Hernández
|
|
| 5 | M. Araujo | |
| 9 |
S. Ibarra
|
23'
|
| 18 | J. Baylón |
62'
|
| Coach: M. Company | ||
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 24 |
for J. Caffa 65' |
|
| 25 |
for J. Córdoba 65' |
|
| 13 |
for E. Zelaya 83' |
88'
|
| 1 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 8 |
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 10 |
for L. Hernández 46' |
|
| 14 |
for S. Ibarra 71' |
|
| 21 | ||
| 8 | ||
| 16 | ||
| 20 |
