May 10 (Reuters) – On a high-scoring night in the Libertadores Cup, Universidad de Chile recovered from a 4-1 first-leg deficit to trounce Deportivo Quito 6-0 while holders Santos crushed Bolivar 8-0 on Thursday.

Fans of Universidad, holders of the lesser Copa Sudamericana, feared their attractive, attacking side had blown their chances at high altitude in Ecuador last week but “La U” bushed Deportivo aside to go through 7-4 on aggregate.

There were two goals apiece from midfielder Junior Fernandez and striker Angelo Henriquez as the Chileans progressed to a quarter-final clash with Paraguay’s Libertad while the Ecuadoreans paid the price for trying to defend their first-leg advantage.

Santos’ home victory at the Vila Belmiro gave them a 9-2 aggregate win after they were beaten 2-1 by the Bolivian side in the thin air of La Paz in the first leg two weeks ago.

Three times South American champions Santos will meet 1994 winners Velez Sarsfield of Argentina in the quarter-finals.

Inspirational striker Neymar and midfielders Elano and Paulo Henrique Ganso, who netted a brilliant free kick, all scored twice.

In one astonishing sequence on the left wing, Neymar let a long ball out of defence bounce off his back and land perfectly for a team mate, then received the return, stepped over the ball and flipped it over his head to himself before passing it again.

BUENOS AIRES, May 9 (Reuters) – The Argentine first division, bloated by two champions per season for 21 years, will revert to crowning only one winner from the 2012/13 campaign starting in August.

The season will continue to be divided in two with the “Inicial” and “Final” tournaments replacing the current Apertura and Clausura but the winners of each will meet in a grand final, the Argentine FA said on its website (www.afa.org.ar) on Wednesday.

The last time there was a single champion was when a young Marcelo Bielsa’s Newell’s Old Boys won the title, the third of the Rosario-based club’s five, in 1990/91 in a two-legged final against Boca Juniors.

Since the advent of two championships per season comprising 19 matches each, now relegated giants River Plate boosted their record number of titles by 12 to 33 and arch-rivals Boca by eight to 24.

Racing Club, another of the so-called Big Five, ended a 35-year wait for their seventh title in the 2001 Apertura.

The system occasionally favoured smaller clubs with Lanus lifting their first title in the 2007 Apertura and Banfield two years later.

Boca, this season’s Apertura title winners, are joint Clausura leaders with Newell’s Old Boys on 25 points with six matches remaining.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Boca Juniors equalised six minutes into added time to snatch a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Atletico Rafaela and cling to the lead in the Argentine championship on Sunday.

Striker Nicolas Blandi salvaged the point for Boca with an overhead kick from a corner in a dramatic climax to the match in Santa Fe province.

Boca have a key Libertadores Cup match in Chile in midweek and fielded several young reserves including Blandi, who could have put Boca two up early in the second half but for a penalty save by Guillermo Sara.

“It was a very important match for us youngsters who don’t get to play regularly,” Blandi told broadcasters Futbol Para Todos.

Striker Pablo Mouche put Boca ahead after half an hour with a shot between Sara and the near post from the left at the end of a lightning counter-attack.

Defender Fabricio Fontanini headed the equaliser for Rafaela on the hour and, when the match looked like ending in a 1-1 draw, Boca substitute Enzo Ruiz gave away a penalty for handball in the fourth minute of added time.

Striker Dario Gandin converted the penalty with his seventh goal of the championship but the drama did not end there with Boca fighting back to regain their point.

BUENOS AIRES, May 6 (Reuters) – Boca Juniors equalised six minutes into added time to snatch a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Atletico Rafaela and cling to the lead in the Argentine championship on Sunday.

Striker Nicolas Blandi salvaged the point for Boca with an overhead kick from a corner in a dramatic climax to the match in Santa Fe province.

Boca have a key Libertadores Cup match in Chile in midweek and fielded several young reserves including Blandi, who could have put Boca two up early in the second half but for a penalty save by Guillermo Sara.

“It was a very important match for us youngsters who don’t get to play regularly,” Blandi told broadcasters Futbol Para Todos.

Striker Pablo Mouche put Boca ahead after half an hour with a shot between Sara and the near post from the left at the end of a lightning counter-attack.

Defender Fabricio Fontanini headed the equaliser for Rafaela on the hour and, when the match looked like ending in a 1-1 draw, Boca substitute Enzo Ruiz gave away a penalty for handball in the fourth minute of added time.

Striker Dario Gandin converted the penalty with his seventh goal of the championship but the drama did not end there with Boca fighting back to regain their point.

May 2 (Reuters) – Boca Juniors and Vasco da Gama scored two of the season’s best Libertadores Cup goals on their way to 2-1 victories in the first leg of their last 16 ties on Wednesday.

Juan Roman Riquelme finished off a fine team goal to open the scoring for Boca against Union Espanola in Buenos Aires while Vasco’s Diego Souza struck a superb individual effort for their second against Lanus in Rio de Janeiro.

Six times champions Boca needed a last-minute goal from Uruguayan striker Santiago Silva, heading home substitute Pablo Mouche’s cross, to secure their victory over the Chileans at La Bombonera.

Boca took a first half lead when midfielder Pablo Ledesma sent over a high cross, Silva played it back to striker Dario Cvitanich who laid off for Riquelme to shoot inside the base of the far post.

The Chilean side equalised in the 72nd minute when a poor clearance by the Boca defence allowed striker Sebastian Jaime a free run across the face of goal before shooting past goalkeeper Agustin Orion.

Less than two minutes later, midfielder Walter Erviti almost restored Boca’s lead when he darted past three defenders only to see his shot come back off the near post.

Espanola had Uruguayan central defender Diego Scotti sent off in added time for chopping Riquelme down and he will miss next Wednesday’s second leg in Santiago.

April 29 (Reuters) – Border town newcomers Tijuana and rebel state Chiapas bagged the last two berths in the Mexican Clausura championship quarter-finals on Sunday.

Promoted Tijuana, who have never before been this far, will meet Concacaf Champions League winners Monterrey in the first knockout round after qualifying with a 1-1 draw at home to Pumas UNAM in their stronghold on the northwestern border with the United States.

Chiapas, a southern region noted for its rebel spirit whose team are based in Tuxtla Gutierrez, got through thanks to Cruz Azul’s 2-2 draw away to Mexico City giants America at the Azteca.

Chiapas had beaten Morelia 1-0 on Saturday leaving Cruz Azul needing a victory to qualify.

The top eight teams in the 17-match league phase of the championship, second of two in the season, go through and Cruz Azul missed out in ninth place.

League table-toppers Santos Laguna face the Chiapas “Jaguars” who finished eighth, Monterrey were second and America, who were third, go into a quarter-final tie against sixth-placed Pachuca.

The other tie pits title holders Tigres UANL, who won the Apertura championship in December and qualified in fifth, against fourth-placed Morelia.

BUENOS AIRES, April 28 (Reuters) – A teenager is in danger of losing an eye, three other people were hurt and 36 arrested after fighting between rival fans and police at an Argentine first division match on Saturday

Fighting broke out between visiting fans and police during Godoy Cruz’s 1-0 defeat at San Martin and after the final whistle home supporters weighted in attacking the visiting team’s bus with players and club officials aboard.

That sparked a response by about 100 police officers firing rubber bullets with the fans throwing stones in reply, local media reported.

A police station in the western city of San Juan confirmed 36 arrests and four people taken to hospital including a 17-year-old who could lose an eye.

Former Fulham striker Facundo Sava, who delighted west London fans by donning a Lone Ranger style mask whenever he scored, made a winning debut as San Martin’s coach.

“The first half was very good, we controlled play and we were able to go ahead,” Sava said after winger Marcelo Carrusca scored in the 17th minute for the side from San Juan.

“Maybe they deserved to draw for what they did in the second half because they had more chances than us,” the 38-year-old told a news conference.

By Rex Gowar

(Reuters) – Bolivar were lucky an act of violence by fans against Santos ace Neymar did not get their Libertadores Cup last-16 first leg in La Paz suspended on Wednesday as they went on to a record a 2-1 victory.

Neymar was about to take a corner in the 78th minute when he was hit by an object thrown from the crowd at the packed Hernando Siles stadium in the Bolivian capital and fell to the ground.

The 20-year-old was soon back up on his feet, but the Fox Sports television commentator said Chilean referee Enrique Osses warned Bolivar he would suspend the match if there was a repeat of the incident.

South American champion Santos once again struggled in the thin air of La Paz, 3,600 metres above sea level, having lost to The Strongest at the start of their defence of the title in February.

However, they recovered to win their group and qualify with home advantage in the second leg of the first knockout round at the Vila Belmiro in two weeks’ time.

“They don’t like playing here,” said Bolivian international Jhasmany Campos, voted man of the match after his part in both of Bolivar’s goals.

April 25 (Reuters) – Bolivar were lucky an act of violence by fans against Santos ace Neymar did not get their Libertadores Cup last-16 first leg in La Paz suspended on Wednesday as they went on to a record a 2-1 victory.

Neymar was about to take a corner in the 78th minute when he was hit by an object thrown from the crowd at the packed Hernando Siles stadium in the Bolivian capital and fell to the ground.

The 20-year-old was soon back up on his feet, but the Fox Sports television commentator said Chilean referee Enrique Osses warned Bolivar he would suspend the match if there was a repeat of the incident.

South American champion Santos once again struggled in the thin air of La Paz, 3,600 metres above sea level, having lost to The Strongest at the start of their defence of the title in February.

However, they recovered to win their group and qualify with home advantage in the second leg of the first knockout round at the Vila Belmiro in two weeks’ time.

“They don’t like playing here,” said Bolivian international Jhasmany Campos, voted man of the match after his part in both of Bolivar’s goals.

“We set out to score at least three goals to be calm for the return in Brazil, we ran and probed but we couldn’t score more,” he told Fox Sports.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella says he must resolve problems in midfield and defence, their Achilles heel in last year’s Copa America, if Lionel Messi is to lead his team to victory in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The midfield needs addressing given Sabella cannot count on Juan Sebastian Veron, captain of the Estudiantes side that won the Libertadores Cup in 2009, because the 37-year-old is set to retire in June.

There is a also question mark over Boca Juniors’ ageing playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, not discarded but who last played for Argentina in October 2008 and was overlooked by Sabella’s predecessors Diego Maradona and Sergio Batista.

“Argentina are in the midst of a generation change, which happens to all national teams when there are a lot of young players coming through and we have to strengthen from the middle to the back, that’s our search,” Sabella told Reuters in an interview.

“Everyone is aware of the great potential we have in the last 30 metres of the pitch,” he added, knowing he has plenty of skill up front with the likes of Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez.

Argentina’s last major trophy was the Copa America in 1993. If they are to win their third World Cup in the land of their greatest rivals, Messi will have to be at his peak at 26 and be surrounded by a good team.

“Of course, our dream is to do a good job, play the qualifiers, qualify for the World Cup and get there at the right moment because it’s very important if you’re at a World Cup to be in your best form,” Sabella said.