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BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) -Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio scored first-half goals to give Argentina's Boca Juniors a 2-1 victory over Cruzeiro on Wednesday and a berth in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores.
Boca, the defending champion and a six-time winner of the continental championship, completed a two-game sweep of Cruzeiro and advances to the next round against Mexico's Atlas, which eliminated Lanus of Argentina on Tuesday.
Needing a victory after its 2-1 loss in Buenos Aires last week, Cruzeiro pressed from the opening kickoff and dominated early. Charles and Marcelo Moreno threatened, but Boca were thwarted by keeper Mauricio Caranta.
Boca slowly improved and took control. Juan Roman Riquelme sent Palacio away on an excellent chance at 33 minutes, and striker Palermo shook three defenders and forced defender Giovanny Espinoza to make a desperate clearance.
Palacio opened the scoring in the 36th minute, taking a feed from Jonatan Maidana and firing into the left corner.
Cruzeiro appeared rattled by the goal, but striker Marcelo Moreno nearly equalized three minutes later, firing just wide.
A minute before halftime, Palermo outleaped Espinoza for a header to give Boca a 2-0 lead and seal Cruzeiro's fate.
Cruzeiro came out strong again for the second half, driven by a raucous crowd of 70,000 at Mineirao stadium. In the opening minutes, Marcelo Moreno sent a header skimming over the crossbar.
The Brazilians narrowed the gap in the 56th minute, Wagner side volleyed a rebound after Caranta punched a free kick by Marcinho - but only to the top of the penalty area.
Boca recovered with Riquelme nicking the left post on a free kick and Palermo threatening from the top of the penalty area.
The Argentines slowed the game, content to trade passes and run out the clock. Cruzeiro was hampered by playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men, reduced when midfielder Ramires was red-carded for a violent foul on Riquelme.
