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 possession evenly distributed and no clear protagonist; however, the situation would change quickly in the first 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 due to the foul, Leandro Paredes would shoot directly at the goal, but the goalkeeper from the Núñez team would deflect it to corner. Following the expulsion, Leonardo Ponzio would make an emergency substitution, taking off Lucas Beltrán and replacing him with Lautaro Rivero.
Despite the numerical advantage, the Xeneize could not impose themselves on the score, 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 the ball into the net for a 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 a bit from the poor performance in the last part 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 well, 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 occur 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.
