The last four stages of the 2009 Copa Santander Libertadores are the knockout stages: the Round of 16, the Quarterfinals, the Semifinals, and the Finals.
The remaining stages of the tournament constitute a single-elimination tournament. In each stage, the teams will play an opponent in a two-legged tie on a home-away basis. Each team will earn three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. The team with the most points at the end of each tie will advance.
The following criteria will be used for breaking ties on points:
The 16 qualified teams in the knockout round will be seeded according to their results in the group stage. The top teams from each group are seeded 1-8, with the team with the most points as seed 1 and the team with the least as seed 8. The second-best teams from each group are seeded 9-16, with the team with the most points as seed 9 and the team with the least as seed 16. Teams with a higher seed will play the second leg of each tie at home.
The Round of 16 began on May 5. Team #1, as the higher seeded team, played the second leg at home.
Sport Recife 3âÂÂ3 Palmeiras on points, Sport Recife & Palmeiras tied on goal difference and goals scored. Palmeiras won 3âÂÂ1 on penalties.
Caracas 3âÂÂ3 Deportivo Cuenca on points. Caracas won +3 on goal difference.
Grêmio won 6âÂÂ0 on points.
Cruzeiro won 6âÂÂ0 on points.
Estudiantes won 4âÂÂ1 on points.
Defensor Sporting won 4âÂÂ1 on points.
Team #1, as the higher seed, will play the second leg at home.
Nacional 2âÂÂ2 Palmeiras on points. Nacional and Palmeiras tied on goal difference and goals scored. Nacional advances on away goals.
Grêmio 2âÂÂ2 Caracas on points. Grêmio and Caracas tied on goal difference and goals scored. Grêmio advances on away goals.
Estudiantes advances 6âÂÂ0 on points.
Cruzeiro advances 6âÂÂ0 on points.
Estudiantes advances 6âÂÂ0 on points.
Cruzeiro advances 4âÂÂ1 on points.
The Finals was played on July 8 and 15.
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