Libertad solidified their spot at the top of Group D in the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday with their second win in a row, beating Talleres de Córdoba 2-0 at La Huerta Stadium in Asunción. The Paraguayan side now sit on six points after two straight wins, while the group’s second matchday will wrap up on Thursday with São Paulo (3 pts) taking on Alianza Lima (0 pts).

An early goal sets the tone

The first goal came early, in the 11th minute, when Iván Ramírez took a free kick that found Lorenzo Melgarejo, who delivered a perfect cross for Iván Franco to finish from close range, beating the entire Argentine defense to it. Talleres almost answered right away with a rocket from Diego Ortegoza that smashed off the crossbar just two minutes later.

Despite dominating possession and pushing forward, the Argentine side—now under the command of debutant coach Pablo Guiñazú—couldn’t break down the well-organized Libertad defense, which stayed solid even during the rough patches.

A knockout blow in the second half

Right at the start of the second half, just as Talleres seemed closest to equalizing, substitute Adrián Alcaraz made an instant impact. He latched onto a long ball from Thomas Gutiérrez and buried it with confidence in the 57th minute to seal the deal.

Guiñazú tried to breathe new life into the attack by bringing on Federico Girotti, Valentín Depietri, and Sebastián Palacios, but none could find the finishing touch in front of goal. Libertad, on the other hand, made the most of their chances and stayed clinical when it mattered. With this result, Libertad take full control of the group, while Talleres will have to regroup quickly if they want to stay in the race for a spot in the knockout rounds of the continental tournament.