RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Defending champions Gremio scored twice either side of halftime to defeat Atletico Tucuman 4-0 on Tuesday and advance to the Copa Libertadores semifinals.

The result in Porto Alegre gave the Brazilian outfit a 6-0 aggregate win following their 2-0 victory in the first leg of the quarterfinal in Argentina.

Brazil international striker Luan gave the hosts the lead by tapping in from close range just after the half-hour mark.

Cicero converted from the penalty spot on the stroke of halftime after forward Alisson was dragged down by goalkeeper Cristian Lucchetti, who was shown a red card after referee Roberto Tobar consulted the video assistant referee (VAR).

Alejandro Sanchez gifted the hosts a third goal by turning the ball into his own net upon the restart and Jael completed the rout in stoppage time with a coolly taken penalty after he was fouled in the box by Yonathan Cabral.

In Tuesday's other quarterfinal second leg, River Plate beat Argentine rivals Independiente 3-1 to also advance to the last four of South America's top club competition.

The result followed a goalless draw at Independiente's Libertadores Stadium.

Nacho Scocco, Juan Quintero and Santos Borre scored for the hosts while Silvio Romero was on target for Independiente.