Holders Santos batter Bolivar to reach quarters
Reuters - Friday 11 May 2012, 04:09
On a high-scoring night in the
Libertadores Cup, Universidad de Chile recovered from a 4-1
first-leg deficit to trounce Deportivo Quito 6-0 while holders
Santos crushed Bolivar 8-0 on Thursday.
Fans of Universidad, holders of the lesser Copa
Sudamericana, feared their attractive, attacking side had blown
their chances at high altitude in Ecuador last week but "La U"
bushed Deportivo aside to go through 7-4 on aggregate.
There were two goals apiece from midfielder Junior
Fernandez and striker Angelo Henriquez as the Chileans
progressed to a quarter-final clash with Paraguay's Libertad
while the Ecuadoreans paid the price for trying to defend their
first-leg advantage.
Santos' home victory at the Vila Belmiro gave them a 9-2
aggregate win after they were beaten 2-1 by the Bolivian side in
the thin air of La Paz in the first leg two weeks ago.
Three times South American champions Santos will meet 1994
winners Velez Sarsfield of Argentina in the quarter-finals.
Inspirational striker Neymar and midfielders Elano and Paulo
Henrique Ganso, who netted a brilliant free-kick, all scored
twice.
In one astonishing sequence on the left wing, Neymar let a
long ball out of defence bounce off his back and land perfectly
for a team-mate, then received the return, stepped over the ball
and flipped it over his head to himself before passing it again.
Fluminense beat twice champions Internacional 2-1 in a much
tighter all-Brazilian last-16 tie at the Engenhao in Rio de
Janeiro for an aggregate victory by the same score.
Headed goals by Leandro and Brazil striker Fred in the first
half cancelled out an early opening Inter strike by Leandro
Damiao.
Fluminense, looking to win the trophy for the first time,
clash again with six times champions Boca Juniors in the last
eight after meeting in the group phase when Flu beat Boca 2-1
away but then lost 2-0 at home to the Argentine side.
Corinthians, another major Brazilian side yet to lift the
trophy, meet 1998 champions Vasco da Gama in the other
quarter-final after both qualified on Wednesday.