RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Neymar provided two assists as Santos recovered from a goal down to clinch a 2-1 home win over Macara in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 tie on Thursday.
Franco Posse gave the Ecuadorian side an early lead, but Neymar set up Gabriel Barbosa and Willian Arao either side of halftime as Santos edged toward a place in the quarterfinals.
The return fixture will be played in the Andean city of Ambato, at more than 2,500 meters above sea level, next Thursday.
In Cusco, Matias Succar scored a hat-trick as Cienciano cruised to a 6-1 home win over Botafogo.
In Thursday's only other Copa Sudamericana fixture, Vasco da Gama was held to a goalless home draw by Olimpia. ■
