South American Futbol - Libertadores, Sudamericana, World Cup 2010

Nacional and Penarol couldn’t win on the weekend, as Danubio moved to the top of the league standings after five rounds.

Uruguayan champions Nacional were beaten 1-0 by River Plate at the Centenario stadium on Saturday night. Jorge Zambrano converted a penalty kick in the first half to hand River the three points. It was a fiery encounter with five players receiving their marching orders.

If it were any consolation, Nacional were without several of their key players who are participating in the U-20 World Cup in Egypt with Uruguay.

Defensor Sporting defeated Fenix 2-0 despite playing with ten-men ever since the second minute of the match. Midfielder Diego De Souza scored both of Defensor’s goals.

Penarol, Uruguay’s most popular club, dropped down to eighth-place after being held to a frustrating 2-2 draw by Liverpool at the Centenario stadium. Marcel Roman and Jonathan Ramis gave Penarol a two-goal lead, however, two goals from Emiliano Alfaro rescued Liverpool a point.

Danubio climbed to the top of the table after edging Cerro Largo 3-2 in a highly entertaining encounter. Hamilton Ricard, Carlos Grossmuller and Diego Ifran scored for Danubio, while Fabricio Nunez scored both of Cerro Largo’s goals.

In other matches, Central Espanol beat Cerro 2-1, Rampla Juniors edged Tacuarembo 1-0, Racing and Cerrito drew 1-1, and finally Wanderers and Atenas fought out a goalless draw.

Gregory Sica

Goal.com

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