Washington bags brace in Sao Paulo win
Reuters - Friday 12 March 2010, 05:03
BUENOS AIRES - Striker Washington
scored twice to give Sao Paulo a 2-0 away win over Paraguay's
Nacional in Group Two of the Libertadores Cup on Thursday.
Fellow Brazilian striker Kleber also scored two for
Cruzeiro in their 2-2 draw at Venezuela's Deportivo Italia in
Group Seven but was sent off near the end for a bad tackle, his
second yellow card offence.
In two Group Five matches played in Ecuador, modest
Uruguayan side Cerro shocked Emelec 2-1 in the George Capwell
stadium in Guayaquil while Ecuadorean champions Deportivo Quito
were held 1-1 by Brazil's Internacional in the capital.
Washington, who also scored both goals in Sao Paulo's 2-0
home win over Mexican champions Monterrey a month ago, took his
tally in South America's top club competition to four.
He felt his performance answered his critics after he was
slammed for a glaring miss against Once Caldas two weeks ago
just before the Colombian side scored their second goal for a
2-1 victory.
"Of course, against Once Caldas I had that chance, I didn't
take it and the team lost," Washington was quoted as saying on
Brazilian broadcaster Globo's sports website.
"But there are going to be lots of games when I'm not going
to score and the team will lose. No one's unbeatable and no
one's perfect. But also, many times, I'll settle (the game),
like today," he said.
NEAR-EMPTY STADIUM
Washington opened the scoring with a left-foot shot against
the run of play just before the hour and tapped in a cross in
the final minute of the match, played in front of less than a
thousand spectators at Asuncion's Defensores del Chaco stadium.
Once Caldas, champions in 2004, lead the group with seven
points, one ahead of three-times winners Sao Paulo, after three
matches. Monterrey have four points and Nacional none.
In Caracas, twice champions Cruzeiro struggled against
Italia, who picked up their first point and scored their first
goals after two defeats.
Kleber was sent off five minutes from time and Italia's
substitute left back Rafael Lobo was shown a straight red card
in the 89th, two minutes after coming on.
In Guayaquil, Cerro midfielder Pablo Caballero put his side
in front early in the second half when he tapped in the rebound
after Alvaro Melo's shot had hit the bar.
In the 66th minute, centre-back Claudio Dadomo took a free
kick on the right just outside the box, blasting a rising shot
between two defenders and past diving keeper Marcelo Elizaga
into the top far corner to secure a second win for the
Uruguayans.
Midfielder Pablo Perez pulled one back with a diving header
20 minutes from the end.