BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Defending champions River Plate converted penalties either side of half-time to beat Cerro Porteno 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores quarterfinal here on Thursday.
Nacho Fernandez put the hosts ahead in the eighth minute by sending goalkeeper Juan Carrizo the wrong way after Joaquin Larrivey hacked down Nicolas de la Cruz.
Matias Suarez then had a goal ruled out by VAR before Rafael Borre held his nerve from the spot after Carrizo tripped Exequiel Palacios.
The return leg will be played in Paraguayan capital Asuncion next Thursday, with the winner on aggregate advancing to the last four.
River Plate won South America's premier club trophy for a fourth time last year by beating their Argentinian rivals Boca Juniors 5-3 over two legs in the final.
