Estudiantes-Cerro Porteño tie without goals

The last champion of the local tournament Estudiantes de La Plata drew without goals with Paraguay’s Cerro Porteño for the first leg of the pre-quarter finals of the Libertadores Cup.

In another first leg match, Colombian side Atlético Junior drew 1-1 away to Chiapas in Mexico.

Barreto, reserve keeper in Paraguay's 2010 World Cup squad, made a string of good saves, not least when a free kick from Pablo Barrientos took a deflection and he managed to shift his weight back and make a diving save.

Cerro Porteño had midfielder Rodrigo Burgos sent off four minutes from time for a tackle from behind, his second booking.

The Paraguayan team's Argentine striker Roberto Nanni, the competition's top scorer with seven goals, had one good chance well saved by Agustin Orión in the first half.

"We had to win and we had seven or eight chances... At least we didn't concede a goal and now we have 90 more minutes there," Estudiantes winger Enzo Pérez told reporters.

Estudiantes, who won their fourth title in 2009, meet Cerro Porteño in the second leg in Asunción on May 5.

The match was held at the Ciudad de La Plata stadium, also known as the Estadio Único, and Brazilian Salvio Fagundes was in charge of refereeing it.

In Tuxtla Gutierrez in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, Luis Paez gave the Colombian side an early lead before Jackson Martinez equalised just before the hour.

Line-ups:

Estudiantes: Agustín Orión; Federico Fernández, Leandro Desábato and Germán Ré; Gabriel Mercado, Rodrigo Braña, Juan Sebastián Verón and Raúl Iberbia; Enzo Pérez; Gastón Fernández and Rodrigo López. Coach: Eduardo Berizzo.

Cerro Porteño: Diego Barreto; Iván Piris, Luis Cardozo, Pedro Benítez and César Benítez; Iván Torres, Jorge Núñez, Javier Villarreal and Jonathan Fabbro; Roberto Nanni and Juan Manuel Lucero. Coach: Leonardo Astrada.

Stadium: Ciudad de La Plata.

Referee: Salvio Fagundes (Brazil).