- The reigning CONMEBOL Sudamericana champions claimed a 2-0 victory through goals from Franco Watson and Ramiro Carrera, holding on to their advantage despite playing almost half an hour with ten men following Lucas Besozzi’s dismissal.
- The second leg will be played in Cusco on Wednesday 29 July, with the winners of the tie advancing to face Botafogo in the Round of 16.
Lanús began the defence of their crown with authority. The reigning CONMEBOL Sudamericana champions defeated Cienciano 2-0 at La Fortaleza in the first leg of the Round of 16 play-offs, with Franco Watson scoring in the first half before Ramiro Carrera added a late second. The Argentinian side resisted for almost half an hour with ten men following Besozzi’s dismissal. El Granate, who have not conceded at home throughout their international campaign this year, will look to finish the job at altitude in Cusco on Wednesday 29 July.
Mauricio Pellegrino’s side, without the injured Walter Bou and Marcelino Moreno, controlled possession from the outset but struggled to turn that dominance into clear chances. The breakthrough arrived after 35 minutes and came through a different route from their sustained pressure: a counter-attack down the flank that Besozzi completed by setting up Watson for the finish. The Córdoba-born midfielder, who had been booked in the tenth minute, was substituted at half-time.
The match changed course 17 minutes into the second half, when Alexis Herrera sent Besozzi off for stepping on Kevin Barreto. The provider of the opening goal left the champions with ten men and almost half an hour to hold out.
Pellegrino reorganised his side, surrendered possession and instructed them to break quickly after winning the ball back. “Let’s play directly — that’s how we’ll get forward,” he was heard saying during the drinks break, as Cienciano took control of the ball without finding any penetration. They ended the night with only one shot on target against Nahuel Losada.
José María Canale stood out in a defence that refused to buckle. The Paraguayan centre-back, who a few weeks earlier had scored the decisive penalty in Paraguay’s historic World Cup elimination of Germany, helped the champions preserve another clean sheet.
Just when the result appeared settled, the night produced an unexpected final flourish. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Matías Sepúlveda fired a shot that goalkeeper Ítalo Espinoza could only parry, allowing Carrera — who had replaced Watson — to collect the rebound and seal the 2-0 victory.
The substitute capped the performance with a goal as El Granate built their advantage through experience and composure.
The tie will remain open until Wednesday 29 July, when Cienciano host Lanús at the Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in Cusco from 7.30pm local time. The champions will defend their advantage with an even greater prize in sight: the winners will face Botafogo, who recorded the best group-stage campaign, in the Round of 16 of La Gran Conquista.
The match in numbers:
- Lanús extended their run of consecutive victories against Peruvian clubs in CONMEBOL competitions to five. Before this sequence, they had won only one of their previous four such matches, with one draw and two defeats.
- Franco Watson scored his third goal in CONMEBOL competitions, all of them in the Sudamericana, and his second for El Granate: against Cienciano today and Metropolitanos in 2024. His other goal came for Huracán against Corinthians in 2025.
- Lanús have scored the opening goal in each of their last 11 home matches in CONMEBOL competitions and remain unbeaten across that run, with 10 wins and one draw. All 10 victories came without conceding, including today’s despite playing with ten men.
- Ramiro Carrera, who scored Lanús’ second goal, came on at half-time and subsequently led El Granate in both shots, with three, and expected goals, with 1.0 xG.
- Lanús recorded 55 per cent possession against Cienciano, their highest figure in a home CONMEBOL Sudamericana match since registering 59 per cent against Central Córdoba in 2025.
- Marcos Martinich made six tackles for Cienciano, the most by any player on his team, taking his tournament total to 15. He is the third La Furia Roja player to reach that mark in this season’s CONMEBOL Sudamericana, alongside Kevin Becerra (21) and Gerson Barreto (18).
