It was a successful first week in the 2025 Copa Libertadores for Argentine clubs, with wins for four of the five teams that have already played their opening matchup.

River Plate took care of business on Wednesday, beating Universitario from Peru 1-0 in Lima. The Millonarios have had mixed fortunes recently, particularly in the Liga Profesional where they’ve dropped points in their last three games. 

However, Marcelo Gallardo’s team kick started their Libertadores campaign in fine form. Just 16 minutes in, a scrappy play from a corner allowed defender Paulo Díaz to score. It was enough for River, who should have scored more while equally not suffering many attacking threats throughout the game..

It was a very different story for Vélez Sarsfield. The defending domestic champions are among the worst teams in the league this season, but came from behind to beat Uruguay’s Peñarol 2-1 at home on Wednesday.

In a tightly contested game, El Fortín found itself on the wrong end of a fast counter-attack by Peñarol in the second half. However, they kept pushing and levelled the score in the 80th minute with a goal from Argentina U-20 regular Maher Carrizo. They completed the turnaround in the 95th minute, when 17-year-old Alvaro Montoro tapped in a rebound from a free-kick to earn Vélez only their third win in 2025.

Tuesday saw the first of two Argentine teams winning in this year’s competition, as Racing continued their winning streak of Brazilian teams. They added a 3-0 battering of Fortaleza to their victories over Cruzeiro in the 2024 Copa Sudamericana final and Botafogo in the 2025 Recopa Sudamericana.

In a very back-and-forth game, Racing took a deserved win with goals from Maximiliano Salas in the 25th minute, Agustín Almendra in the 48th, and captain Santiago Sosa in the 83rd.

Estudiantes, another team with an irregular start to their league campaign, beat Venezuela’s Carabobo 2-0. Controlling the game from start to finish, the Pincha took the lead in the 45th minute from a header by defender Santiago Nuñez, and extended their dominance in the 72nd as captain Santiago Ascacíbar scored from the penalty spot.

Talleres was the only Argentine club to lose in the opening round of fixtures, falling 1-0 at home to Brazil’s Sao Paulo on Wednesday. 

Central Córdoba Santiago del Estero will wrap up the Argentine teams’ first outings in the Libertadores on Thursday, when they take on LDU Quito at home at 7 p.m. Argentina time.