Five-star San Lorenzo ease past Bolivar

Argentinian side San Lorenzo claimed a comfortable 5-0 victory over Bolivian giants Bolivar in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores semi-final on Wednesday.

According to FIFA.com,striker Mauro Matos headed home early on as he got on the end of Leandro Romagnoli’s free-kick to break the deadlock at the Nuevo Gasometro stadium.

As the match approached the half-hour mark, San Lorenzo doubled the advantage and the goal again came from a Romagnoli free-kick which right-back Emmanuel Mas sent home to double their tally.

Before the break, home striker Ignacio Piatti had a clear chance to extend the scoring but he failed when in a one-on-one with Bolivar goalkeeper Romel Quinonez.

Midfielder Juan Mercier clinched the third goal of the night with a cross after he took advantage of some poor defending.

While left-back Julio Buffarini put them further ahead after 73 minutes as he connected with a superb shot from outside the box before Mas headed home another free-kick to seal the win with five minutes to go.

“It was what we were looking for, we wanted to make a good difference at home ahead of the match in Bolivia. Today we did an excellent job and for that we won with a huge score,” said man of the match Matos.

In the other semi-final, Uruguayan outfit Defensor Sporting, who are 2-0 down from the first leg, take on Paraguayan side Nacional in Tuesday’s second-leg tie.

The Libertadores finalists will be decided next Wednesday.

M.D