Ecuadorian giants Liga de Quito made it into the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals despite a 1-0 loss at Argentinian reigning champions Independiente on Wednesday.

Their 2-0 home first leg win at home was enough for Edgardo Bauza's side, who play Paraguay's Libertad or Brazilian giants Sao Paulo in the next round.

With the first half about to finish, Leonel Nunez shot from outside the box and beat Liga keeper Alexander Dominguez after the ball was deflected.

Three minutes before the full time whistle, Independiente defender Fernando Godoy was shown a red card after a tackle on Claudio Bieler. Independiente pushed for a second goal to take the tie to penalties, but were unsuccessful.

Liga defender Ulises de la Cruz told Fox Sports: "Mission accomplished. The goal made us nervous and feel the pressure, but we are experienced enough to deal with this type of circumstance. In the next round, we must be strong at home and score as many goals as possible in the first leg."

Independiente forward Nunez, meanwhile, was unable to hide disappointment: "We did everything to win, but it was not enough. We attacked for the whole the 90 minutes. Now, it's time to focus on the domestic league."