River Plate of Uruguay recorded a convincing 4-1 win over Brazil's Vitoria in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16 on Tuesday.

A brace by Jorge Cordoba in Montevideo opened the way to an important victory as they carry the three-goal advantage to the second leg in Salvador next Wednesday. River, who eliminated Bolivia's Blooming in the preliminary round they scored in the opening minutes of each half.

The Uruguayan team needed only eight minutes to take the lead at the almost empty Estadio Centenario. Argentinian forward Cordoba headed a Federico Puppo cross from the right to beat Vitoria's Colombian keeper Julian Viafara.

The River Plate goal was scored following domination by Vitoria. A counter-attack created doubt in the defence of the Brazilian team. Viafara had more work to do four minutes before the interval, when he saved a Jorge Rodriguez shot.

The ball was deflected off Wallace's head and the keeper saved at the expense of a corner. Five minutes after the break, Cordoba finished a quick attack to beat Viafara again and become the tournament's leading scorer with three goals.

Wallace gave Vagner Mancini's Vitoria some hope by reducing the deficit at the 67th minute from a corner but the final ten minutes of the game brought more disappointment for the Brazilian side. In the 81st minute, Andrezinho made it 3-1 after fine individual play before Jorge Rodriguez extended the lead at the 83rd minute. The winners of this tie face Argentinian giants San Lorenzo or Peru's Cienciano in the quarter-finals.