Almost two weeks after qualifying for the final of the Copa Sudamericana, good news continues to arrive in the Boca world. With a solid performance, and somewhat benefiting from a few controversies, the Xeneize defeated River 1-0 at La Bombonera in the 15th round of the Clausura Tournament.
The match would start with shared possession and no clear protagonist; however, the situation would quickly change in the first few minutes. At 9, Santiago Ascacíbar would make a precise pass in the midfield for Miguel Merentiel, who could not receive the ball as, when it seemed he was going one-on-one against Santiago Beltrán, he would be brought down by Lucas Martínez Quarta. After a VAR review, the referee Nicolás Ramírez would show Chino a direct red card, leaving the Millonario at a disadvantage early on.
From the resulting free kick, Leandro Paredes would shoot directly at goal, but the Núñez team’s goalkeeper would deflect it to corner. Following the expulsion, Leonardo Ponzio would make an emergency substitution, taking off Lucas Beltrán and bringing on Lautaro Rivero.
Despite the numerical advantage, the Xeneize could not impose themselves on the scoreboard, although the goal would not take long to arrive. At 27, Sebastián Villa would cross from a corner for Lautaro Di Lollo, who would win the duel against Rivero and head in the 1-0 lead.
From that goal, the team of Vasco Arruabarrena would gain confidence and take control of the match, dominating possession and creating dangerous chances. Meanwhile, River could not escape their own area and suffered both from their rival's attacks and their own defensive errors.
In the second half, although the Millonario would recover somewhat from the poor performance at the end of the first half, it would not be enough to trouble their opponent or think about a hypothetical equalizer. On the other side, the home team continued to apply pressure to extend the lead, although they would struggle to finish their plays, such as a missed one-on-one by Ascacíbar against Beltrán at 53 and a shot off target by Villa at 59.
If anything characterized this second half, it would be the constant fouls from both sides. This scenario led to moments of controversy, especially for the Ribera club, which managed to avoid going down to 10 players on several occasions due to second yellow cards and even a potential penalty for a hold in the area by Di Lollo on Nicolás Otamendi at 74. One of the most controversial situations would come at 79, when Gonzalo Montiel would see a direct red card for a harsh kick on Lautaro Blanco, leaving his team with 9 players for the final stretch of the match.
