Cabanas hat-trick shatters Cristal

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MEXICO CITY -- Paraguay striker Salvador Cabanas scored a hat-trick as America thrashed Sporting Cristal 5-0 in the opening match of the South American Libertadores Cup.

After Oscar Rojas had given the Mexicans a 20th-minute lead in the preliminary round, first leg game on Wednesday, Cabanas opened his account just before half-time when he was sent clear by German Villa and rounded keeper Erick Delgado to score.

The hapless Peruvians fell further behind shortly after the break, when Mexico forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco latched onto a long clearance upfield by Diego Cervantes to add the third.

Cabanas notched his second with a long-range shot in the 66th minute and completed his hat-trick by heading in Blanco's cross with eight minutes to play.

The match was played in Toluca as America completed a three-match ban on the Azteca stadium following a brawl and crowd riot in 2004.

The second leg will be in Lima next Wednesday and the eventual winners qualify for Group One alongside last year's semifinalists Libertad of Paraguay, Argentina's Banfield and Ecuadorean champions El Nacional.

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