Cienciano thrashes Botafogo 6-1 in Cusco, dreaming of a Copa Sudamericana semifinal

Six goals in one night, and an entire city dreaming again of Asuncion, of Guayaquil, or wherever the road leads next. That 6-1 win over Botafogo in Cusco was no ordinary rout: it gave wings to a club that already knows what it feels like to lift an international trophy, and that is now starting to eye the full Copa Sudamericana bracket as if the path were, once again, laid out for them.

There is something about the altitude in Cusco that keeps rattling visiting teams, and Botafogo felt it firsthand. With such a lopsided scoreline, Cienciano can afford to play the return leg with a massive cushion: a win, a draw, or even a loss by fewer than four goals next Thursday would be enough to seal its spot in the quarterfinals. It is, for all intents and purposes, already halfway into the next round.

So what comes after Botafogo? That is where things get interesting for any fan who has already started doing the math. Waiting in the quarterfinals would be the winner of the tie between Tigre and Montevideo City Torque, two sides who split a narrow first leg: 1-0 for the Uruguayans in Buenos Aires. A slim advantage that could evaporate in Uruguay on one poorly defended corner kick or a header at just the right moment. Nothing is settled there yet.

Neymar's shadow looms over the semifinals

If Cienciano keeps the party going and advances, the semifinals would bring a rival that already sends a shiver just by being named. On the other side of that bracket, Atletico Mineiro, Bragantino, Santos, and Macara are battling it out, and based on how they have looked in the competition so far, all signs point to Neymar's Santos emerging as the strongest of the bunch. Three Brazilian contenders and one Ecuadorian side fighting for a spot that, on paper, looks like an uphill climb for anyone not from Brazil.

As for the other half of the bracket, the one already looking straight toward the final, the names there are enough to make any smaller club's hair stand on end: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Sao Paulo are, as things stand, the favorites to reach that last stage before someone hoists the trophy.

None of this means the job is done. There is still a crucial Thursday ahead in Rio de Janeiro, still a need to keep up the level they showed in Cusco, and above all, still a need not to get comfortable with a lead that, however safe it may look, is never a guarantee in South American soccer. But after a night like that, with six goals scored and a name like Botafogo on the other side, it is impossible not to start dreaming in Cusco.