Copa Libertadores wrap: Velez, Santos through to semis

Brazil club Santos and Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield both advanced to the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.

Santos advanced to the last four 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw against Colombia’s Once Caldas, while Maximiliano Moralez was on target twice as Velez beat Paraguay’s Libertad 4-2 for a 7-2 aggregate victory.

Just three days after helping Santos clinch the Campeonato Paulista, Brazilian rising star Neymar was at it again against Once Caldas with a 12th-minute goal to give his side a 2-0 advantage over the two legs.

Once Caldas gave Santos a few anxious moments when Wason Renteria scored on the half-hour mark but the Brazilian club held on to advance.

Velez went into the other quarter-final with a 3-0 lead and they were never threatened as Moralez netted twice and Guillermo Franco and Augusto Fernandez both added goals in the last 30 minutes to secure the victory.

Rodrigo Rojas and Manuel Maciel scored for Libertad.

Santos will face either Mexico’s Chiapas or Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno in the semis, while Velez will take on the winner of Uruguay’s Penarol and Chile’s Universidad Catolica.