Palmeiras beats River Plate 2-1 in Copa Libertadores quarterfinal 1st leg

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Defender Gustavo Gomez and striker Vitor Roque scored first-half goals on Wednesday and Brazil’s Palmeiras beat River Plate 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores quarterfinal series.

Gomez opened the scoring in the sixth minute while Roque added a goal in the 41st minute for the Brazilians, who are looking for their first championship in this tournament since 2021, when they won it back-to-back.

The second leg will be played on Sept. 24 at Allianz Parque in Sao Paulo.

Lucas Martinez scored in the 89th minute for River Plate, a four-time Copa Libertadores champion.

In the other quarterfinal series, Racing holds a 1-0 lead over Velez Sarsfield. On Thursday, Sao Paulo hosts LDU Quito while Argentina’s Estudiantes plays against Flamengo.

The Copa Libertadores final will be played in Lima, Peru on Nov. 29.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras, right, celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Argentina's River Plate during a Copa Libertadores quarterfinal soccer match at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras, left, and Paulo Diaz of Argentina's River Plate battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores quarterfinal soccer match at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Maximiliano Salas of Argentina's River Plate, left, and Gustavo Gomez of Brazil's Palmeiras battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores quarterfinal soccer match at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Argentina's River Plate during a Copa Libertadores quarterfinal soccer match at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Vitor Roque of Brazil's Palmeiras, second from right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal against Argentina's River Plate during a Copa Libertadores quarterfinal soccer match at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — William Nylander, who leads the Maple Leafs in scoring, went to the locker room late in the first period of Toronto's Thursday night game against the Vegas Golden Knights with a lower-body injury.

Teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson also left the ice in the first, but returned for the second period.

The Maple Leafs said that Nylander would not return to the game.

He entered the game with a team-leading 30 assists and 46 points. Nylander added to those totals with a goal and an assist against the Golden Knights.

His overtime goal gave the Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory at Colorado on Monday night to end the Avalanche's 17-game home winning streak.

The 11-year veteran has been an ironman for the Maple Leafs, having appeared in all 82 games each of the past three seasons and in 81 games in 2021-22. However, he had just returned to action Saturday after missing six games with a lower-body injury.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, left, celebrates with right wing William Nylander after his goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)