Grêmio ran riot at their new stadium on Tuesday night as they defeated Caracas 4-1 in the Copa Libertadores to place themselves in good stead to qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition.
The Tricolor Gaúcho took the lead after 15 minutes, when a mistake from opposition keeper Baroja afforded Argentine forward Hernan Barcos the simplest of finishes to open the scoring.
Centre-back Werley soon added a second before half-time and, from that point on, the result never looked in doubt. Chilean Eduardo Vargas had almost scored just beforehand with a fine run and shot that was ultimately well saved by Baroja.
After the break, Zé Roberto rolled back the years to come to the fore, The veteran midfielder was found with a good pass by Barcos and dribbled his way into a good position before smashing home a shot.
The lively Otero would pull a goal back for the Venezuelans, following a positional error from the otherwise excellent Cris, but Zé Roberto would put the game to bed by adding a fourth goal from a Vargas cross-shot.
After three games, Grêmio currently top Group 8 with two wins and one defeat from their fixtures to date.
GRÊMIO: Dida; Pará, Werley, Cris, André Santos; Fernando, Souza, Elano (Marco Antônio), Zé Roberto; Vargas (Welliton), Barcos. Coach: Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
CARACAS: Baroja; Francisco Carabalí, Sánchez, Edwin Peraza, Quijada; Jiménez, Peña (Cabezas), Juan Guerra, Otero, Meza (Rino); Cure (Farías). Coach: Ceferino Bencomo.
