A second-half strike from Edinson Cavani handed Argentina's Boca Juniors a 1-0 home victory over Brazilian side Cruzeiro in their Copa Sudamericana round of 16 first leg clash on Thursday.

Cavani put the hosts ahead in the 65th minute at La Bombonera when he ran onto Kevin Zenon's layoff and deftly chipped a first-time effort into the top left corner.

It was no less than Boca Juniors deserved as they had more than 52% of the total possession and completed more passes.

"We dominated in the second half and deserved more," Cavani said after the match. "We could have scored a few more times. But that's football."

The former Uruguay international forward was cautiously optimistic about the return fixture in Belo Horizonte next Thursday.

"It will be a tough game but we are focused on what we need to do to get the win," he said.

In other Copa Sudamericana matches on Thursday, Athletico Paranaense clinched a 2-1 home win over Belgrano and Sportivo Ameliano drew 1-1 at Libertad.

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