Corinthians progressed to the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday without the injured Willian, going through 6-5 on penalties after two goalless legs.

After Boca scraped a draw in the first leg in Sao Paulo, they were given a chance to take the early lead from the spot, after a VAR intervention penalised Raul Gustavo's errant elbow.

Despite sending Cassio the wrong way, Dario Benedetto smacked his effort against the frame of the goal, critically maintaining parity in the tie.

The 32-year-old had the best chance of the second half for Boca as well, but his chip in transition floated just over when put through by Sebastian Villa.

In the shoot-out, back-to-back penalty saves from Agustin Rossi were not able to save Benedetto, who skied his second penalty before Gil eventually put the Timao through.

Hulk sends CAM through

Atletico Mineiro left it late but secured their progression to the quarter-finals, defeating Emelec 1-0 in Belo Horizonte to go through 2-1 on aggregate.

Antonio Mohamed's side struggled for significant portions of the first leg but dominated possession and territory in the return, with 21 shots to six on the night 

Hulk's 79th-minute penalty ultimately proved the difference, calmly slotting past Pedro Ortiz.

Romulo salvages draw and progression for Athletico-PR

Athletico Paranaense snatched a late 1-1 draw in Asuncion, advancing to the quarter-finals by winning 3-2 on aggregate.

The Paraguayan champions forced themselves level on aggregate through veteran Roque Santa Cruz in the fourth minute of first-half injury time, scoring via a wonderful solo dribble and finish.  

When the tie looked set for penalties, Romulo dramatically secured passage for Luiz Felipe Scolari's side, picking up the rebound from his own header to score in the 90th minute.

Boca Juniors claimed an important result in their first-leg tie against Corinthians in the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores, holding on for a 0-0 draw in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

Corinthians dominated proceedings at home but were not able to capitalise, with Roger Guedes also failing to convert from the penalty spot with the interval approaching.

It would have been a deserved lead for the Timao after a positive opening 45 minutes, but Guedes was brilliantly denied in the 43rd minute by Agustin Rossi, who guessed correctly and quickly reacted to save.

The home side's best chance in open play fell to Giuliano after a mazy dribble into the penalty area from Willian in the 46th minute, but Marcos Rojo scrambled to quell the danger.

With Exequiel Zeballos and Dario Benedetto struggling to have a tangible impact, coming back to Buenos Aires for the second leg with parity intact is a positive for Boca, after also failing to defeat Corinthians in their two Group E games.

Ortiz denies CAM smash and grab

Emelec will have to progress past Atletico Mineiro in Belo Horizonte after only managing a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg.

As expected under Antonio Mohamed, CAM primarily looked to absorb pressure, and they scored against the run of play in the 16th minute. A spectacular first touch from Hulk to bring Everson's hoof under control put Ademir through, and he calmly converted past Pedro Ortiz.

Emelec captain Sebastian Rodriguez deservedly got his side back on level terms in the 58th minute, but CAM had a penalty of their own with two minutes of regular time remaining. Ortiz stood up this time, though, denying Hulk what would have been the winner.

Athletico-PR take first leg

Two first-half goals from Athletico Paranaense allowed them to secure a 2-1 win at home to Libertad in Curitiba.

After confirming Fernandinho's signing from Manchester City, Luiz Felipe Scolari's side were characteristically solid defensively, but only after they hit the lead a second time.

Vitor Roque put the hosts ahead in only the sixth minute but the Paraguayan champions equalised through Hector Villalba in the 20th minute. Athletico PR restored the lead 12 minutes later, with Nicolas Hernandez scoring the eventual winner.

River Plate left it late to claim their third successive win in this season's Copa Libertadores group stage, defeating Colo Colo 2-1 in Santiago.

Matias Suarez and Esequiel Barco scored in the final 10 minutes for the four-time Libertadores winners in an overall cagey 90 minutes at the Monumental David Arellano.

Los Albos had an apparent penalty waved away in first-half injury time, when Paulo Diaz brought down Juan Lucero as he was cutting back onto his right foot to shoot.

Diaz would be prominent again with Matias Suarez breaking the deadlock for River in the 83rd minute, though. The Chile international and former Colo Colo player quickly won back possession before playing through Marcelo Herrera, whose cross was not dealt with, and Suarez was on hand to punish.

Returning from injury, Esequiel Barco played a full match and doubled the margin in the 88th minute, rifling home from just outside the penalty area, before Lucero scored a consolation in the second minute of injury time.

Palmeiras make it three from three

Palmeiras took control of Group A and secured their third win of this season's group stage, with the 2021 Libertadores winners defeating Emelec 3-1 in Guayaquil.

The Verdao have not struggled for goals despite a middling start to the Serie A season, and they opened the scoring in spectacular fashion in the 19th minute. 

Following Mayke's cross-field pass, Rony headed in Wesley's first-time delivery back across the penalty area, with the ball not touching the ground in that sequence.

Gabriel Veron made it 2-0 six minutes later, cutting through the Emelec defence in transition, before calmly slotting home past Pedro Ortiz. Joao Rojas scored for the hosts in the 61st, but Breno Lopes eventually restored the two-goal margin.

Pikachu gets two assists as Fortaleza relieve pressure

In the other Group F result, Fortaleza claimed their first-ever win in the Libertadores, defeating Alianza Lima 2-1 at home on Wednesday.

After two respective defeats to begin their Serie A and Libertadores campaigns, Silvio Romero put Fortaleza ahead five minutes after the restart.

Alianza claimed an equaliser in the 70th minute with Pablo Lavandeira getting on the end of Yordi Vilchez's cross, but Yago Pikachu got his second assist of the night, setting Hercules up for the winner nine minutes later.