Cruzeiro ease into Libertadores quarters

(GSM) – Ten-man Cruzeiro breezed into the last eight of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday as their 3-0 win over nine-man Nacional de Montevideo secured a 6-1 aggregate thrashing.

Already leading 3-1 from the first leg a week ago in Brazil, Thiago Ribeiro extended Cruzeiro’s lead on the half-hour mark.

Then, three minutes into the second half, Diego Renan made it 2-0 to the visitors as he slotted home past Rodrigo Múñoz.

The red cards followed soon after as Cruzeiro’s Leonardo Silva earned a dismissal in the 53rd minute just moments before Nacional’s Sebastián Coates picked his second booking.

In the 70th minute, Nacional lost yet another man when Gustavo Varela earned a straight red card.

Once the pyhsicality ended, Cruzeiro took command yet again and procured a third goal nine minutes from time when Gilberto found his way onto the scoresheet.

Cruzeiro now face an all-Brazilian quarter-final against São Paulo.