BUENOS AIRES, May 9 (Reuters) – Talleres de Córdoba advanced to the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday by beating Barcelona of Ecuador 3-1 at home, on a day in which São Paulo beat Cobresal and also qualified .
With the victory on the fourth date of Group B, Talleres reached ten points in the standings, one difference with the runner-up São Paulo, while Barcelona accumulates two points and Cobresal, one.
In the match played at the Mario Kempes stadium in the province of Córdoba, the goals of the Argentine team were scored by Matías Catalán, Rubén Botta and Gustavo Bou at minutes 12, 25 and 94, respectively.
“Of course we take dimension of what we are achieving. Because it is not easy to compete internationally and we are doing well,” said coach Walter Ribonetto at a press conference after the victory.
The only goal for Barcelona was scored by Joao Joshimar Rojas in the 61st minute.
In the same group, in a match played at the Zorros del Desierto stadium in Calama, São Paulo beat Cobresal 3-1 as a visitor and secured their qualification to the round of 16.
The goals for the popular Brazilian team were scored by Luciano, Rodrigo Nestor and the Argentine Jonathan Calleri, while the Uruguayan Diego Coelho scored for the Chilean team.
In Group D, at the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Botafogo beat Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito 2-1 at home thanks to goals from Hugo and Junior Santos.
The goal for the Ecuadorian team was scored by Michael Estrada.
In other games on Wednesday, Millonarios and Bolívar tied 1-1 in Group E, while Alianza Lima and Cerro Porteño tied by the same score in Group A.
(Reporting by Ramiro Scandolo; edited by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)
