Uruguay's Nacional take opening honours

Uruguayan giants Nacional claimed a 2-1 away win over Brazil's Vasco da Gama in their first match of the Copa Libertadores group stage on Wednesday. In the opening game of Group Five, Nacional took the lead in the 30th minute as Vasco defender Dede scored an own goal from a Tabare Viudez corner kick. Vicente Sanchez doubled the lead a minute into the second half and then missed the chance to score a third goal after dribbling past Vasco keeper Fernando Prass. The Brazilian team managed to reduce the deficit at the 73rd minute when Alecsandro finished from a Juninho Pernambucano pass from the right. Vasco had an equaliser disallowed in the 89th minute as Carlos Tenorio was offside when he headed the ball into the back of the net. Substitute Renato Silva was sent off for protesting about the decision to Colombian referee Jose Buitrago. Juninho Pernambucano told Globo TV: "Nacional played very well, and were fast in attack. We had to win tonight but we failed. Now, we'll fight. We are not happy, but our fans are great and we'll fight a lot." The other Group Five teams, Libertad of Paraguay and Peru's Alianza Lima, will meet on Thursday in Asuncion. In Group Three, Chilean side Union Espanola beat Colombia's Junior 2-0 by scoring two goals in 60 seconds. In the 64th minute, Emanuel Herrera netted after a corner, while Fernando Cordero doubled the lead at the 65th, when his cross saw the ball straight into the goal at the far post. Union Espanola midfielder Braulio Leal told Fox Sports: "Winning the first game is very important. And it is more if you are home team. This is a very even tournament and you cannot make mistakes." A brace by Javier Orozco gave Mexico's Cruz Azul a 2-1 win over Nacional in Paraguay. Ariel Bogado netted for the hosts in their first game in Group Six.