Copa Libertadores champion Flamengo trashed 5-0 at restart

Defending Copa Libertadores champion Flamengo of Brazil was trashed 5-0 at Ecuador's Independiente del Valle on Thursday in ir first match in tournament in six months.

Del Valle, reigning champion of Copa Sudamericana, opened scoring in 40th minute with Moisés Caicedo. Its four or goals came in second half with Angelo Preciado (49), Gabriel Torres (59), Jhon Sánchez (81) and Beder Caicedo in second minute of stopp time.

Flamengo, which has struggled since departure of coach Jorge Jesus to Benfica in July, also saw defender Gustavo Henrique be sent off in dying seconds of match in Quito.

South American tournament restarted this week after a halt that began on March 12, at a time when nearly all cases of COVID-19 came from or continents.

w Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Argentina are among top 10 countries in world in terms of confirmed cases of disease.

Del Valle leads group A after three matches with nine points. Flamengo is second with six.

Catalan coach Domènec Torrent, a former assistant of Pep Guardiola, is already under pressure from fans. Flamengo lost four of his 11 matches in charge.

In less than a year, Jesus took Rio de Janeiro giant to five titles, including its first South American crown in 38 years. team also lost four matches under his orders, including Club World Cup final against Liverpool in December, but won staggering 43 out of 57.

Also on Thursday two Argentinian giants overcame ir own expectations after a long period of inactivity.

2019 runner up River Plate drew 2-2 at Sao Paulo, with its players scoring all goals of match. Enzo Pérez opened scoring with an own goal in 10th minute, but River got level eight minutes later with Rafael Santos Borré from close range.

Argentinians scored second with a strike from Julián Álvares in 80th minute, but Sao Paulo put final number in scoreboard with ar River own goal by Fabrizio Angileri three minutes later.

While River started training only weeks ago, Sao Paulo has played competitive matches since July. result at Morumbi kept Argentinians and Brazilians tied after three matches with four points in group D, which is led by Ecuador's Liga de Quito.

Boca beat Paraguay's Libertad 2-0 in Asuncion after a week in which 22 of its players had tested positive for COVID-19. Many were allowed to play anyway because soccer authorities considered y had already recovered.

Eduardo Salvio scored a brace for Argentinians, with goals in 6th and in 84th minute. Boca w leads group H with seven points, one ahead of second place Libertad.

Im credits: AP