Palmeiras beats River Plate 2-1 in Copa Libertadores quarterfinal 1st leg
Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras, second right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal against Argentina's River Plate during a Copa Libertadores quarterfinal soccer match at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. Credit: AP/Gustavo Garello
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Defender Gustavo Gomez and striker Vitor Roque scored first-half goals on Wednesday and Brazil’s Palmeiras beat River Plate 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores quarterfinal series.
Gomez opened the scoring in the sixth minute while Roque added a goal in the 41st minute for the Brazilians, who are looking for their first championship in this tournament since 2021, when they won it back-to-back.
The second leg will be played on Sept. 24 at Allianz Parque in Sao Paulo.
Lucas Martinez scored in the 89th minute for River Plate, a four-time Copa Libertadores champion.
In the other quarterfinal series, Racing holds a 1-0 lead over Velez Sarsfield. On Thursday, Sao Paulo hosts LDU Quito while Argentina’s Estudiantes plays against Flamengo.
The Copa Libertadores final will be played in Lima, Peru on Nov. 29.
More soccer news
