Palmeiras are in control of their last-16 tie against Cerro Porteno in the Copa Libertadores after claiming a 3-0 win in Tuesday's first leg in Asuncion.

A second-half brace from Rony before a late sealer from Murilo gave the two-time defending Libertadores champions a healthy buffer coming back to Sao Paulo for next Wednesday's second leg.

Abel Ferreira's side just edged it on the basis of play over 90 minutes and took the lead right on the hour, with Rony meeting Gustavo Scarpa's inviting cross to the back post, to head home in transition.

After a VAR confirmation and some wonderful individual work from Raphael Veiga to bring Gustavo Gomez's hoof under control to release Scarpa, Rony made it 2-0 in the 69th minute and effectively ended the contest.

Murilo put the punctuation mark on the result, heading home from close range in the 87th, following Gomez's knock down from a corner.

Palmeiras moved to 19 straight away games without a defeat in the Libertadores, looking to win the tournament three times in a row for the first time since Independiente claimed four consecutive titles between 1972 and 1975.

Quintero returns but Velez triumph

Velez Sarsfield claimed a shock first-leg win over River Plate, winning 1-0 at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani.

Lucas Janson scored the lone goal from the penalty spot in the 15th minute, but Velez arguably should have won by more, with a scuffed effort from Manchester City signing Julian Alvarez in the 38th minute the only notable chance for River.

Juan Fernando Quintero was introduced for River after half-time, making his return from an injury sustained in April, but Velez had the better chances of the second half.

Velez captain Lucas Pratto had an chance to double the margin in the 52nd minute, with Franco Armani also denying substitute Abiel Osorio twice from close range. Janson then had a goal disallowed in the 75th minute, keeping River in the tie.

Flamengo take first leg victory

Last season's finalists Flamengo side took the first-leg victory despite a poor performance in Ibague, defeating Deportes Tolima 1-0.

Andreas Pereira capped off what will be his final week at the club on loan from Manchester United, scoring the winning goal in the 17th minute.

Lucas Silvestre's side did little to consolidate their margin with the ball, with a passive majority of possession taking over and facilitating chances on the other end.