1973 Copa Libertadores

Copa Libertadores 1973 was won by defending champions Independiente of Argentina after defeating Colo Colo of Chile in a third decisive game. The third match which ended 2-1 in extra time was necessary after the previous two leg matches ended in draws.

Group stage

Team qualifies for second round

Group 1

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
San Lorenzo	10	6	5	0	1	15	1	+14
Wilstermann	7	6	3	1	2	6	8	-2
River Plate	5	6	2	1	3	12	10	+2
Oriente Petrolero	3	6	1	0	5	5	19	-14

February 25	Santa Cruz	Oriente Petrolero	1-3	River Plate
February 25	Cochabamba	Wilstermann	1-0	San Lorenzo
February 28	Santa Cruz	Oriente Petrolero	0-3	San Lorenzo
February 28	Cochabamba	Wilstermann	1-0	River Plate
March 11	Santa Cruz	Oriente Petrolero	3-1	Wilstermann
March 13	Buenos Aires	San Lorenzo	1-0	River Plate
March 19	Buenos Aires	River Plate	2-2	Wilstermann
March 20	Buenos Aires	San Lorenzo	4-0	Oriente Petrolero
March 22	Buenos Aires	San Lorenzo	3-0	Wilstermann
March 23	Buenos Aires	River Plate	7-1	Oriente Petrolero
March 27	Buenos Aires	River Plate	0-4	San Lorenzo
March 27	Cochabamba	Wilstermann	1-0	Oriente Petrolero

Group 2

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Botafogo	9	6	4	1	1	15	9	+6
Palmeiras	9	6	4	1	1	10	6	+4
Nacional	4	6	1	2	3	8	9	-1
Peñarol	2	6	0	2	4	4	13	-9

February 17	Montevideo	Nacional	2-0	Peñarol
February 17	São Paulo	Palmeiras	3-2	Botafogo
February 24	Rio de Janeiro	Botafogo	3-2	Nacional
February 25	São Paulo	Palmeiras	2-0	Peñarol
February 28	São Paulo	Palmeiras	1-1	Nacional
March 1	Rio de Janeiro	Botafogo	4-1	Peñarol
March 10	Montevideo	Peñarol	1-1	Nacional
March 12	Rio de Janeiro	Botafogo	2-0	Palmeiras
March 14	Montevideo	Peñarol	2-2	Botafogo
March 17	Montevideo	Nacional	1-2	Botafogo
March 21	Montevideo	Peñarol	0-2	Palmeiras
March 24	Montevideo	Nacional	1-2	Palmeiras

Group 3

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Colo-Colo	8	6	3	2	1	16	4	+12
Emelec	7	6	3	1	2	6	7	-1
El Nacional	5	6	2	1	3	5	10	-5
Unión Española	4	6	1	2	3	3	9	-6

February 25	Guayaquil	Emelec	2-0	El Nacional
March 1	Santiago	Colo-Colo	5-0	Unión Española
March 11	Guayaquil	Emelec	1-0	Unión Española
March 11	Quito	El Nacional	1-1	Colo-Colo
March 14	Guayaquil	Emelec	1-0	Colo-Colo
March 14	Quito	Nacional	1-0	Unión Española
March 18	Quito	El Nacional	1-0	Emelec
March 18	Santiago	Unión Española	0-0	Colo-Colo
March 22	Santiago	Unión Española	2-1	El Nacional
March 24	Santiago	Unión Española	1-1	Emelec
March 25	Santiago	Colo-Colo	5-1	El Nacional
March 28	Santiago	Colo-Colo	5-1	Emelec

Group 4

• The Venezuelan club teams Deportivo Italia and Deportivo Galicia did not participate in the Copa Libertadores due to internal problems with the Venezuelan footballing federation.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Millonarios	4	2	1	1	0	6	2	+4
Deportivo Cali	1	2	0	1	1	2	6	-4

March 15	Bogotá	Millonarios	6-2	Deportivo Cali
March 21	Cali	Deportivo Cali	0-0	Millonarios

Group 5

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Cerro Porteño	9	6	4	1	1	14	5	+9
Olimpia	6	6	3	0	3	9	9	0
Sporting Cristal	6	6	2	2	2	5	9	+4
Universitario	3	6	1	1	4	5	10	-5

February 2	Lima	Sporting Cristal	2-2	Universitario
February 4	Asunción	Cerro Porteño	4-2	Olimpia
February 14	Lima	Universitario	2-1	Olimpia
February 17	Lima	Sporting Cristal	1-0	Olimpia
February 19	Lima	Universitario	0-2	Cerro Porteño
February 22	Lima	Sporting Cristal	1-1	Cerro Porteño
March 2	Asunción	Olimpia	2-1	Cerro Porteño
March 2	Lima	Universitario	0-1	Sporting Cristal
March 9	Asunción	Olimpia	3-1	Universitario
March 15	Asunción	Cerro Porteño	1-0	Universitario
March 16	Asunción	Olimpia	1-0	Sporting Cristal
March 20	Asunción	Cerro Porteño	5-0	Sporting Cristal

Semi-Finals

• The five previous group leaders formed two new groups of three which included the 1972 Copa Libertadores defending champion Independiente.

Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Independiente	5	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2
San Lorenzo	4	4	1	2	1	4	3	+1
Millonarios	3	4	1	1	2	1	4	-3

April 6	Bogotá	Millonarios	1-0	Independiente
April 11	Bogotá	Millonarios	0-0	San Lorenzo
April 24	Buenos Aires	San Lorenzo	2-0	Millonarios
April 26	Avellaneda	Independiente	2-0	Millonarios
May 5	Buenos Aires	San Lorenzo	2-2	Independiente
May 9	Avellaneda	Independiente	1-0	San Lorenzo

Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Colo-Colo	5	4	2	1	1	10	9	+1
Cerro Porteño	4	4	2	0	2	8	9	-1
Botafogo	3	4	1	1	2	8	8	0

April 6	Rio de Janeiro	Botafogo	1-2	Colo-Colo
April 11	Asunción	Cerro Porteño	5-1	Colo-Colo
April 26	Asunción	Cerro Porteño	3-2	Botafogo
May 4	Santiago	Colo-Colo	4-0	Cerro Porteño
May 8	Santiago	Colo-Colo	3-3	Botafogo
May 15	Rio de Janeiro	Botafogo	2-0	Cerro Porteño

Finals

May 22	Avellaneda	Independiente	1-1	Colo-Colo
May 29	Santiago	Colo-Colo	0-0	Independiente
June 6	Montevideo	Independiente	2-1 AET (1-1)	Colo-Colo

Champion

Copa Libertadores 1973 Winners
Independiente Fourth Title