Gremio of Porto Alegre claimed a well-worked 2-0 victory over Universidad de Chile that sent them through to the knockout phase of the Copa Libertadores.

Universidad failed to live up to the expectations generated in Santiago, and slumped to their second defeat in five matches.

Backed by 60,000 enthusiastic fans, the Chileans started the better of the two sides, piling heavy pressure on the Gremio goal in the early moments of the match.

La U came close to scoring when Nelson Cuevas got in the way of a defensive clearance that ended up striking Victor’s left post.

But as the half progressed the Brazilians came more into the game, and by the half hour mark they had complete domination of the match.

In the 32nd minute, Gremio went ahead when Leo headed the ball into the back of the net after an earlier effort from Jonas came off the crossbar.

After the break, both teams had their chances to score. Universidad inflicted heavy pressure on the Gremio goal, but they lacked the right players to penetrate their resilient defence.

This wasn’t the case for Gremio, who looked extremely dangerous each time they moved forward.

In the 65th minute, Souza sped down the left flank and sent a perfect through ball to Maxi Lopez, and the Argentine striker beat Miguel Pinto with a good finish.

Six minutes later La U experienced another blow, when Juan Manuel Olivera was given a straight red card.

Meanwhile, in Colombia, Independiente Medellin defeated Sao Paulo 2-1 with goals from Diego Cabrera and Rafael Castillo. Andre Lima scored for the Brazilians.