Velez Sarsfield beat nine-man Cruzeiro in Libertadores Cup

(GSM) – The first Argentinian-Brazilian clash in this year’s Copa Libertadores, the Group 7 match between Velez Sarsfield and Cruzeiro played on Wednesday, ended in a 2-0 victory to the home side.

It was an eventful encounter at Buenos Aires’ Jose Amalfitani stadium, which started with a direct red card to Cruzeiro’s Gilberto after less than two minutes.

Three minutes later, home fans had another reason to celebrate as Uruguayan striker Santiago Silva score the opening goal.

Things went further down-hill for Cruzeiro in the 37th minute when Gil conceded his second yellow card and left the Brazilians with only nine active players.

For a long time it looked like Cruzeiro would limit the damage but substitute Juan Martinez eventually made it 2-0 in the 77th minute.

The other two teams in this group, Colo Colo of Chile and Deportivo Italia of Venezuela, begin their 2010 Copa Libertadores campaign on Tuesday, February 16.