Palmeiras beats River Plate 2-1 in Copa Libertadores quarterfinal 1st leg

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Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras, second from 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. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras celebrates 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. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello) — Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras, second from 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. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

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11:00 PM on Wednesday, September 17

The Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — 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.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer