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Rosario Central hold Palmeiras to draw
Argentina's Rosario Central held Brazil's Palmeiras to a lacklustre 0-0 draw in Group 7 of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:39 AM IST
Read Time: 2 min
Sao Paulo:
Argentina's Rosario Central held Brazil's Palmeiras to a lacklustre 0-0 draw in Group 7 of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.
Palmeiras, the 1999 Copa champion, has five points, one less than group leader Atletico Nacional of Colombia.
Paraguay's Cerro Porteno - which lost 5-1 to Atletico in Paraguay on Tuesday - has four, and Rosario Central is last with only one point.
All the teams have played three matches each.
Rosario Central, yet to win in this year's Copa Libertadores, played defensively from the start and kept Palmeiras from creating dangerous scoring chances at Palestra Italia stadium.
World Cup veteran Edmundo had a couple of good opportunities for Palmeiras with shots from outside the area, while Rosario Central threatened in a few breakaways through striker Marco Ruben.
Baier, Enilton return
Palmeiras featured the return of injured defender Paulo Baier and striker Enilton, but could not count on all-star goalkeeper Marcos and fellow World Cup veteran Juninho Paulista, who are still nursing muscle injuries.
Rosario Central was able to play with midfielder Damian Ledesma, who was doubtful before the match.
Palmeiras had won five of its seven matches against Argentine clubs in the Copa Libertadores in Sao Paulo. It drew the other two matches, both against Boca Juniors, but was twice eliminated in penalty shootouts.
Palmeiras' last win against an Argentine club was in 1999 against River Plate in the semifinals.
Rosario Central would have been virtually eliminated from this year's competition if it had lost.
Led by recently signed coach Leonardo Astrada, the club is struggling in Argentina's Clausura, in which it was 17th in the 20-team standings with only six points from eight matches.
Palmeiras, on the other hand, was third in the Sao Paulo state championship, only two points from leader Santos.
Palmeiras and Rosario Central will meet again next Thursday in Argentina. (AP)
Topics mentioned in this article
Football
Argentina
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