In a new edition of the Argentine Superclásico, Boca defeated River 2-0 at La Bombonera. Xeneize took advantage of Millonario's poor form and secured three vital points that qualified the team for the Clausura Tournament play-offs and the next Copa Libertadores, after two consecutive editions without being present.
The match, as expected, began contentiously with fouls from both sides. An example of this was the early yellow card for Martínez Quarta for a foul on Changuito Zeballos in the 13th minute of play. In addition to the fouls, another aspect that would characterize the first half was the lack of effectiveness in each team's attacks, with the occasional cross or long-range shot as a warning.
At the 30th minute, Muñeco Gallardo would receive bad news: after slipping, Maxi Meza, who had returned to the field less than a month ago, suffered an injury on his own and left on a stretcher in tears, and Galarza Fonda came on in his place. Minutes later, Di Lollo would receive the first yellow card for Boca for a hard foul on Maxi Salas.
Near the end of the first 45 minutes, Blanco would clear the ball from his own half, skipping lines until finding Zeballos, who would first unleash a powerful shot that Armani managed to save. However, Millonario's goalkeeper gave up a long rebound, and Boca's own forward would capitalize on it to score the 1-0 for the home side.
In the second half, Millonario's coach would make changes to give his team more offensive presence, taking off Rivero and bringing on Juanfer Quintero. Nevertheless, this change was completely overshadowed, as right after that Xeneize extended its lead thanks to Merentiel's foot, after a great play by Zeballos down the left wing, the clear standout of the match.
With the momentum from the two goals, Boca began to press higher and higher up the field. As a result, in the 52nd minute the team managed to catch River's defense off guard, which had to resort to a forced handball by Armani outside the box to stop Xeneize's advance, earning a yellow card in the process.
At this point in the match, the Ribera club was the clear dominant side, creating several clear opportunities that narrowly missed becoming goals, and Núñez's team could not recover from the blow. In this context, Gallardo made more changes to the team in search of turning the situation around: Galoppo and Borja for Castaño and Driussi.
As the minutes passed, desperation began to take hold of the visiting team, which could not create danger in the blue and gold area and resorted to fouls to contain the rival attacks. In the following minutes, Montiel, Galarza Fonda, Galoppo, and Borja would receive yellow cards, with Borja causing Carlos Palacios's substitution due to injury.
Ten minutes from the end, Armani would commit a penalty on Merentiel in the middle of the box; however, after an extensive VAR review and to Millonario's fortune, referee Ramírez changed his decision.
Aside from a header by Galarza Fonda that hit the left post and a shot by Salas near the right corner near the end of the match, River never managed to find a clear chance to reduce the deficit. Ultimately, the result would not change, ending in a 2-0 victory for Boca.
In the final matchday, Xeneize, already qualified for the next phase, will host Tigre at La Bombonera with the mission of maintaining its lead in the group. Meanwhile, Millonario, without a guaranteed spot in the play-offs for now, will seek to finish the regular phase as well as possible against Vélez at the Amalfitani.
