Copa Libertadores' group stage started on Tuesday, with the second round field to be filled-out tonight.

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Copa Libertadores' first stage finishes up tonight in Ecuador when Emelec, having held Newell's Old Boys to a nil-nil draw two weeks ago in Rosario, get NOB in Guayaquil.  The winning gets the honor of a spot in Group 5, the last group to have its four-some set as the competition's first round comes to an end.

Yesterday, the fifth of the six pair round ties ended dramatically.  In Universidad Católica's return leg against Colón, the Chilean club was able to reverse their 2-3 result on January 26 in Sante Fe, forcing penalty kicks.  Iván Moreno y Fabianesi missed the second kick for Colón.  When Rodrigo Mannara make Católica 5-for-5 with their final kick, the Chileans were through to Group 8, where they will have the honor of being grouped with Chilean league counterparts Universidad de Chile as well as Brazilian champions and one of the tournament favorites, Flamengo.

If Newell's loses in Ecuador, two of Argentina's six entrants will be out before group, a very flow start for a nation who felt the rivalry's pride with Estudiantes' 2009 finals victory over Cruzeiro.  Meanwhile, Brazil sends five strong clubs to try and claim a title the country has not held since 2006:

• São Paulo, the last Brazilian Copa champions, having lost the last Serie A to Flamengo, are alleviated from the burden of having to balance the defense of their domestic title.
• Last year's finalists Cruzeiro has rolled through their first round match, posting a 7-0, second leg victory over Bolivia's Real Potosí to advance into Group 7 (Vélez Sarsfield, Colo-Colo, Deportivo Italia).
• Internacional remains the talented side that was one of the favorites in last year's Brasileirão, having another year of maturity for players like Sandro and Guiliano.
• Corinthians has been building for this year, their centenario, and will lean on Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Matías Defederico and Jorge Henrique.
• And then there's Flamengo, who have added Vagner Love (who has seemingly recovered from his struggles with Palmeiras).  He has quickly formed a successful partnership with Adriano, adding to the team that has been the continent's best over the last seven months.

There were six, first round match-ups to determine the final entrants into the second, group stage.  We briefly got you up-to-date on them last week, and you know about Católica-Colón, Cruziero-Real Potosí, and Emelec-Newell's.  Here's how the other three finished:

• Libertad of Paraguay advanced on goal difference over Venezuela's Deportivo Táchira with a 3-1 win in Asuncíon last Tuesday, reversing their 1-0 loss in San Cristóbal.  
• Peru's Juan Aurich made like of México's qualification process, easily eliminating Tecos, whose surprise run through last month's Interliga qualified them for this tournament.  Aurich went to México last Wednesday, got a 2-1 win to sweep the series.
• Racing of Uruguay built upon their 2-2 result on January 28 in Barranquilla with a 2-0 win in Montevideo over Colombia's Junior.

1. Corinthians (BRA), Cerro Porteño (PAR), Independiente Medellín (COL), Racing (URU) - Corinthians will be favored to come out of this group.  Cerro is off to a good start in Paraguay and are the defending champions.  They should battle Colombian champions Independiente for second.  Racing struggled in the Uruguayan Apertura and need to show they can compete in this group.
2. São Paulo (BRA), Monterrey (MEX), Once Caldas (COL), Nacional (PAR) - Nacional gave us a glimpse of how this group will play out by losing at home yesterday to Once Caldas.  Caldas was expected to compete with Monterrey behind São Paulo, who - despite losing the Brazilian championship for the first time in three years - have to be considered a contender for the Copa.
3. Estudiantes (ARG), Alianza Lima (PER), Juan Aurich (PER), Bolívar (BOL) - Estudiantes seemed to have a relatively easy group and look strong enough to provide a strong defense of their title.  Alianza Lima were the stronger of the Peruvian teams last year, losing in the country's final to Universitario.  Both they and Aurich should place ahead of Bolivar.
4. Libertad (PAR), Universitario (PER), Lanús (ARG), Blooming (BOL) - Seemingly the weakest group, thanks to Lanús's mediocrity in the Apertura (and to start the Clausura).  Lanús was also very poor in last year's LIbertadores, going 0-4-2 and finishing last in their group.  Universitario and Libertad were in the same group last year, with Libertad cruising to first place while Universitario missed out on the knock-out stage, losing a tiebreaker to San Luis.  Libertad started group play yesterday with a 2-0 victory at Lanús.
5. Internacional (BRA), Cerro (URU), Deportivo Quito (ECU), Emelec/NOB - Inter should qualify from this group, with Cerro giving us an early hint of who the rest of the quartet will shake out, winning 2-0 at home over Quito on Tuesday.  Still, there is a danger of the three non-Inter teams taking enough points from each other to keep the "winner" from being amongst the six best second place finishers.  Going to second place, wins will be very important in guaranteeing you don't miss out on the Round of 16.
6. Nacional (URU), Morelia (MEX), Banfield (ARG), Deportive Cuenca (ECU) - Nacional is one of last year's semifinalists and has controlled the Uruguayan league over the last year.  There's no reason to believe they can't get out of Group 6.  It will be great to see which of Morelia and Banfield can finish second, both teams coming off surprisingly good results in their recent domestic tournaments.  Morelia is off to a good start in México's Bicentenario, while Banfield's had a mixed beginning to their Clausura.
7. Cruzeiro (BRA), Colo-Colo (CHI), Vélez Sarsfield (ARG), Deportiva Italia (ECU) - What to think of Vélez, who is off to a strong Clausura start, won the last Clausura, was okay in the Apertura, are a former winner of this competition but have been absent from the tournament for a couple of years.  They are grouped with last year's finalists and a Chilean power.  For me, this is one of the most interesting groups, along with ...
8. Flamengo (BRA), Universidad de Chile (CHI), Universidad Católica (CHI), Caracas (VEN) - I consider Flamengo not only the best team on the continent, but when I publish my list of top clubs in the world (another site, later this week), I will have them seventh.  Behind Fla, La U's strong start to Chile's Apertura has to bode well for their Libertadores hopes.  Católica was dominant in the Clausura and playoffs before running into Colo-Colo in the final.  

Yesterday's results, opening group stage:

Group 2:  Nacional 0, Once Caldas 2 - Jaime Castillión and Danny Santoya eased the Colombians through Paraguay, putting themselves in position to challenge Monterrey for second in the group.

Group 4:  Lanús 0, Libertad 2 - Second half goals from Rodolfo Gamarra and Pablo Velazquez continued Lanús's recent struggles, putting the Argentinians in a early hole, dropping three home points to a club with whom they should be battling for a Round of 16 spot.  Can that happen, now?

Group 5:  Cerro 2, Deportivo Quito 0 - A strong start for the Uruguayans, getting an early goal from Claudio Dadómo and a second half, insurance tally from Rodrigo Mora, getting three good points from a quality opponent.

The matches on today's fixture list:

1. Bolívar vs. Alianza Lima - a test match for the Peruvians, who should get a result.
2. Banfield vs. Morelia - the long trip for the Méxicans in a critical match in Group 6.  Banfield needs this result.
3. São Paulo vs. Monterrey - this is the type of match where the experience and talent of Humberto Suazo will be missed.
4. Vélez Sarsfield vs. Cruziero - Vélez's stout defensive against Wellington Paulista and Kléber.