Former Real Madrid striker Ronaldo scored the winning goal as Brazilian club Corinthians beat Cerro Porteno of Paraguay 1-0 on Wednesday to take charge of Group 1 of the Copa Libertadores.
In the day’s other matches, Universidad de Chile beat Flamengo of Brazil 2-1, while Monterrey against Once Caldas and Caracas against Universidad Catolica ended in draws.
Ronaldo’s strike at the back post following a low corner in the 41st minute was enough to get the three points for Corinthians against Cerro Porteno, who finished the match with 10 men following a red card for Jorge Britez in the 83rd minute.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The win put Corinthians four points clear of Uruguay’s Nacional at the top of the group.
Eduardo Vargas gave Universidad de Chile the lead at home against Flamengo in the 43rd minute in Group 8.
Rodrigo Alvim equalized for Flamengo in the 51st minute, but Felipe Seymour notched the winner for Universidad four minutes later.
The win pushed the Chilean club a point ahead of Flamengo at the top of the group after three games played.
Also in Group 8, Venezuela’s Caracas and Chile’s Universidad Catolica played out a scoreless draw to leave both with a difficult task to reach the knockout stages.
Caracas are bottom of the group with one point, while Universidad Catolica have two points.
Dayro Moreno gave Colombian club Once Caldas the lead away to Mexico’s Monterrey in the second minute in Group 2.
Osvaldo Martinez leveled for Monterrey from the penalty spot in the 18th minute, before Neri Cardozo put the Mexican club ahead with a strike in the 47th minute. Jaime Castrillon secured a share of the points for Once Caldas with a 67th-minute equalizer.
Once Caldas moved two points clear of Sao Paulo at the top of the group with eight points from four games, with Monterrey in third place on five points.
The Copa Libertadores is the top club competition in Latin America. The eight group winners and six best-placed runners-up qualify for the round-of-16 knockout stage.
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