Brazilian teams debut in Libertadores

Brazilian teams had their first games in the 2009 Copa Libertadores this week.

Palmeiras, which is playing strongly at home in the Paulista championship, had trouble while visiting defending champions LDU Quito, losing 3-2. Walter Calderon had two goals for the locals, with Willians getting the other. Edmilson and Manso scored for the visitors, which lost for the first time in 2009.

Sport Recife had better luck away from home, beating Colo Colo from Chile 2-1. Ciro and Wilson scored for the Brazilians in the first half, with Lucas Barrios netting the lone Chilean goal that left the locals short of a comeback.

Three-time Libertadores winners and current Brazilian champions Sao Paulo dominated the action at home against Independiente Medellin, but almost left with a loss after falling behind 1-0 in the second half and losing several opportunities of its own. In the end, Borges scored a goal in injury time to give the locals a 1-1 tie.

Cruzeiro took some time to get things going, but after it did, Estudiantes La Plata could not stop them. Kleber scored twice and Fernandinho also had a goal as the team from Belo Horizonte scored an emphatic 3-0 home win over the Argentinians.