Argentine club Lanus thrashed Olimpia of Paraguay 6-0 on Tuesday to take a commanding lead in Group 2 of the Copa Libertadores.
In other results Tuesday, Vasco de Gama went to the top of Group 5 with a 2-1 win at Alianza Lima while in Group 6, Mexico's Cruz Azul drew 1-1 at Venezuela's Deportivo Tachira. Those results mean Alianza and Tachira can not progress to the next round.
Lanus improved to 10 points with one match remaining in group play and is nearly guaranteed of making the second round. Olimpia has seven, two points clear of Flamengo of Brazil, which faces Emelec of Ecuador on Wednesday.
Mario Pavone put Lanus ahead in the 14th minute and Mauro Camoranesi's header in the 29th made it 2-0. Pavone scored again in the 55th before Mario Regueiro added a fourth in the 71st, Diego Valeri extended the margin in the 77th and Silvio Romero finished off the scoring with a 10-meter (yard) strike in the 85th.
Pablo Zeballos had Olimpia's best chance in the first half with a free kick that Lanus goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin dived to his right to stop.
The top two teams in each of eight groups advance to the second round.
In Lima, Peru, in Group 5, Vasco's Felipe Bastos scored in the 18th with a looping, deflected shot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. He scored again in the 70th to push Vasco ahead 2-0. Miguel Curiel pulled one goal back in the 77th for Alianza.
Vasco's Nilton was sent off in second-half stoppage time on a straight red card for a dangerous tackle.
Vasco improved to 10 points from five matches to lead the group. Alianza has three and was eliminated from contention to progress out of the group. Libertad of Paraguay has seven from four matches and Nacional of Uruguay has six. They face off on Thursday.
In San Cristobal, Venezuela, in Group 6, Tachira's Mauricio Parra scored in the 19th to put the hosts ahead.
Christian Gimenez equalized for Cruz Azul in the 83rd, securing an away point that moved the Mexican club to the summit of the group with eight points from five games, ahead of Corinthians on goal difference though the Brazilian club has a game in hand.
Paraguay's Nacional, which hosts Corinthians next week, has four points from as many games while Tachira has three points from five games and can not go through.
