Libertad draw 0-0 with Paulista

Rio de Janeiro:

Libertad of Paraguay held Paulista to a 0-0 draw on Thursday and retained its lead atop Group 8 of the Copa Libertadores. Libertad has four points, followed by Paulista with two, Ecuador's El Nacional with one and Argentina's River Plate with zero. Paulista came out strong, with Colombian striker Munoz testing Libertad keeper Aldo Bobadilla from the edge of the penalty area in the fifth minute. The team, making its first appearance in the Libertadores, was spurred on by a hometown crowd of 15,000 at Jayme Cintra stadium in Jundiai, 100 kilometres northwest of Sao Paulo. But Libertad, a finalist in the Paraguayan championship last year, slowly took control of the match. Pablo Guinazu and Javier Villarreal had good chances early, but shot wide. The Paraguayans dominated the second half. In the opening minutes, Villareal picked up a rebound and fired just wide of goalie Rafael, and wingback Raul Damiani sent a shot skimming over the crossbar. Edgar Robles replaced midfielder Carlos Bonet and nearly opened the scoring in the 82nd minute. Libertad took a foul shot and Robles out jumped the defence at the goal, but his header hit the post. (AP)