PORTO ALEGRE, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Former Shandong Luneng and Brazil international striker Diego Tardelli scored his first goal of the current Copa Libertadores campaign as Gremio defeated Libertad 2-0 in the first leg of their round of 16 match here on Thursday.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men at the Arena do Gremio when Pedro Geromel was shown a straight red card for a high tackle on Edgar Benitez just after halftime.
Tardelli came off the bench in the 63rd minute and put the Brazilian side ahead eight minutes later by latching onto Walter Kannemann's flicked header with a spectacular volley.
It was just the third goal scored by the 34-year-old in all competitions since his February move from the Chinese Super League.
David Braz doubled Gremio's lead six minutes from time with a glancing header after an Alisson de Freitas set piece.
The return match will be played at Libertad's Nicolas Leoz stadium in Paraguayan capital Asuncion on August 1.
