The minimal advantage that Boca achieved at La Bombonera left the series open for its conclusion in Brazil. Miguel Merentiel scored the only goal of the match against São Paulo in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana and, despite the setback, Dorival Júnior refrained from declaring his team's aspirations over.
The coach of the Paulista team acknowledged that the Xeneize was effective when it had its opportunity and considered that the result could have been different. "No one wants to lose in a match of 180 minutes. We would have liked to achieve a better result. Boca deserved it, took advantage of the opportunity it created, and took the lead. There are still 90 minutes left in a match that will be played as it was here", he analyzed.
In that same vein, Dorival highlighted the defensive work of his players and downplayed the impact of Merentiel's goal. "We marked Boca very well; we only had that moment when Merentiel was very lucky to score due to a lapse", stated the coach, who also emphasized the history and respect between both clubs.
Effectiveness was another central point of his analysis. "Boca had one opportunity and knew how to take advantage of it. We had two and weren't as lucky", noted the coach, who also explained that the strategy used was not solely conditioned by the changes made during the match. "In fact, it's not the entry or exit of a single player that changes the landscape. What we thought was to have a player a bit more fixed, positioned in front of our area, which would be very important, and that was the case", detailed Dorival about São Paulo's performance.
