Argentine trio win in Libertadores
By Charles Froggatt, for CNN
 |  Boca's Pablo Jerez is upended by Miguel Villalta of Sporting Cristal. |
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentine teams flourished in the second round of the Copa Libertadores with first leg wins for Boca Juniors, River Plate and Rosario Central.
Defending champions Boca overcame a physical Sporting Cristal side 3-2 in Lima while River sneaked a 1-0 first leg win in Mexico against Santos Laguna and Rosario overcame Brazilian side Sao Paulo 1-0 at home.
Boca took the lead on 31 minutes after Diego Cagna, Clemente Rodiguez, and Carlos Tevez combined with a typically slick move down the left flank.
Rodriguez, Argentina's answer to Roberto Carlos, saw his probing run into the penalty area create space for Tevez, who passed the ball into the back of the net.
Ten minutes later Sporting's Luis Bonnet climbed above the Boca defense at the near post to head in Henry Quinteros corner kick.
With Boca playing for halftime, Quinteros then found himself unmarked and in acres of space and unleashed a stinging shot from five meters outside the box that gave Boca's reserve goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero no chance.
Boca had to wait until 82 minutes to draw level when Jose Maria Calvo scored from close range, but they claimed a late win when birthday boy Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored with a sublime chip from the edge of area in the final minute.
"We were so angry at ourselves for gifting them two goals and allowing them to get in front. A draw would have suited us, but Boca always want to win," said Schelotto, on his 31st birthday.
"Boca always wanted to win the game. We could have accepted being a goal down," said Boca coach Carlos Bianchi.
"But in the second half it was all Boca as we controlled the ball well. In the first half they went a goal up after five fatal minutes from us before half time, without really deserving it," he added.
The second leg will be played on May 12 in Buenos Aires, where Boca are unbeaten this season.
Heroic defending
Meanwhile, River plate sneaked a 1-0 win at Santos Laguna as heroic defending overcame Mexican flair.
Coach Leonardo Astrada's men were clearly under pressure throughout the game as Santos Laguna attacked up the flanks, particularly through Rodrigo Ruiz on the left, who in the second half confused River's defense even further by drifting to the right.
But, despite having only scraps of possession throughout the game, River struck on 58 minutes when Horacio Ameli headed the ball down in the area for substitute Cristian Tula to score the winner.
"The defense was very important today. Santos Laguna have good players who control the ball well and play very offensively. We did well to win," said Astrada after the game.
Gonzalo Belloso scored the winner for Rosario after 86 minutes against Sao Paulo, latching on to a long Emiliano Papa pass.
Belloso's drive rattled the post which deflected the ball into the goal to the delight of the 43,000 strong crowd in Rosario.
The winners of the tie face either Deportivo Tachira of Venezuela or Uruguayan side Nacional.
The first leg saw Deportivo Tachira beat nine man Nacional 3-0 at the San Cristobal stadium, confirming the Venezuelan side's progress.
Alexander Rondon, Emerson Panigutti and Guillermo Beraza all scored for Tachira, and referee Gilberto Hidalgo sent off Adrian Romero and Oscar Morales of the previously unbeaten Uruguayan side.
Leao quits
Other matches this week in the Copa saw Sao Caetano of Brazil come back to beat America of Mexico 2-1 while Colombia's Deportivo Cali beat Cruzeiro of Brazil 1-0.
In Ecuador, Once Caldas of Colombia restricted Barcelona to a 0-0 draw and Liga de Quito out-gunned last year's runners up Santos of Brazil with a 4-2 win, triggering Santos coach Emerson Leao's resignation.
In 2002, Leao coached Santos to their first national championship since the era of Brazilian legend Pele.
But Santos have struggled in the domestic league so far this season, losing three of their first four games.
But Santos' director Francisco Lopes told Pele's Web site: "It's a friendly separation."
