Kaio Jorge and Lautaro Diaz scored first-half goals as Brazil's Cruzeiro clinched a 2-0 away victory over Paraguayan side Libertad in their Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal first leg on Thursday.

Jorge put his side ahead by running onto William Furtado's through ball and rifling an angled finish into the top-left corner.

The visitors doubled their lead just before halftime through Diaz, who finished coolly from 12 yards following another counter-attacking move.

"We have to be mature enough to know that the tie is only at the halfway point," Cruzeiro manager Fernando Seabra told reporters after the match.

"We could have scored more goals and made our position more comfortable but that doesn't change what we need to do in the next match and that is to maintain the level we showed today."

The decisive second leg will be played at Cruzeiro's Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte next Thursday.

The Copa Sudamericana is South America's equivalent of the UEFA Europa League. The winner of this year's competition will earn an automatic berth in next year's Copa Libertadores, South America's premier club competition.

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