Palmeiras are in pole position to reach the Copa Libertadores final after surprising River Plate with an excellent 3-0 away victory in Argentina on Wednesday.
In the first leg of the tie, which took place at Independiente's Estadio Libertadores de America Avellaneda, goals from Rony, Luiz Adriano, and Matias Vina sealed the win for the Brazilian side.
River 0-3 Palmeiras: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
But who were the standout performers in the South American contest?
✔️ GOOD PERFORMANCE
Alan Empereur: 7.7
Alan Empereur played on the left of the back three in the game, and barely gave strikers Matias Suarez and Rafael Santos Borre a sniff when they were in his vicinity.
The 26-year-old won the majority of his duels (6/8) and 100% of his attempted tackles (2/2) while he also made seven interceptions and two clearances.
Remarkably, though, he only completed eight passes during his time on the pitch.
❌ BAD PERFORMANCE
Jorge Carrascal: 5.6
Twenty-two-year-old Jorge Carrascal was already having a poor match before he decided to petulantly kick out at Gabriel Menino to get himself sent off.
The scoreline was only 2-0 at this point so River would have fancied themselves to get at least one goal back, making the scoreline significantly more positive heading into the second leg. Instead, they went a man down, and conceded again.
Prior to that, Carrascal only won 2/8 duels which perhaps contributed to his frustration.
⭐ STAR MAN
Matias Vina: 7.7
The man who got the third and final goal for Palmeiras, and arguably killed the tie off, was Vina, who was the beneficiary of a well-worked set-piece to glance a header into the bottom corner following a delivery from Gustavo Scarpa.
It was a deserved goal, as throughout the game he won 4/5 duels, 100% of his tackles (3/3), and made a huge 11 ball recoveries.
River 0-3 Palmeiras: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
River Plate 
Palmeiras 
