June 4 – Flamengo and River Plate were handed favourable draws for the round of 16 in the Copa Libertadores with ties against Bolivar and Talleres respectively.
On Monday, Conmebol staged the draw for the knockout phase of its flagship club competition. Brazilian giants Flamengo will have to deal with the altitude of Bolivia when they take on Bolivar, but will be strong favourites to progress to the last eight where they would meet the winner of Penarol’s tie.
River Plate of Argentina face Talleres and is favoured to meet the winner of the Coco Colo vs Junior Barranquilla matchup in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, Palmeiras meet Botafogo in the only all-Brazilian tie of the round.
In confirmation of Brazil’s dominance of the competition, six clubs from the country feature in the round of 16 and Gremio could become the seventh representative later this week when group C qualifiers will be decided.
Matches in the group were postponed because of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul. Gremio are sitting in third but have two matches in hand. In a crunch match, they take on Huachipato before hosting Estudiantes on Saturday.
The winner of the competition will bank $33 million after Comnebol raised the prize money for the final from $18 million to $23 million. The final will be played on November 30 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Draw:
San Lorenzo x Atlético-MG
Nacional x São Paulo
Flamengo x Bolívar
Colo-Colo x Junior Barranquilla
Talleres x River Plate
Peñarol x Winner Group C
Botafogo x Palmeiras
Second Group C x Fluminense
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