Boca and San Lorenzo They played a key duel in the Bombonera, for matchday No. 12 of the League Cup, in which they needed the victory to aspire to qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament. If it is usually a hot commitment, the seasonings increased on the hot afternoon in which from the first minute the outcome was captivating. Diego Martínez’s team was better than the one led by Ruben Darío Insúa: Adam Bareiro’s early goal hit him and disoriented him for a few minutes, but settling in better allowed him to be much more dangerous, ambitious and successful. They turned the match around and near the end they ended up winning 2-1, thanks to Edinson Cavani’s goal in the first half and Miguel Merentiel’s goal in the epilogue.
Cristian Lema, asleep from the start
Five minutes had barely gone when the defender got complicated in one of the first exits that Boca had, leaving his team in too bad a position and, in the setback, he had to block Adam Bareiro’s entry into the area: Nazareno Arasa did not hesitate, he sanctioned the penalty and admonished him.
Adam Bareiro and his quality
The Paraguayan, who was so excited about his first performance at La Bombonera, took a deep breath before taking the maximum penalty. He defined from twelve steps with an exquisite touch, 8 minutes into the match.
The penalty on Lema that the VAR omitted
At 15 minutes, all of Boca demanded a penalty that does not allow discussion. The corner taken by Kevin Zenón was in the direction of the No. 2 position of the Xeneize cast, but Gastón Campi did not worry about hiding it, he tugged at his shirt from behind and even turned him around to stop him. The VAR, in charge this afternoon by Mauro Vigliano, did not pause the resumption of play once the ball came out.
Bad news for Lucas Blondel and Boca
Frantic pace in the classic, which among so much maelstrom was taken a minute later with a brake full of headache for Diego Martínez: Lucas Blondel’s right foot was stuck in the grass, his desperate maneuver to lie down and his hand placed on his right knee give very negative indications about his possible injury, which must be confirmed. Immediate change and entry of Jabes Saralegui. It was 17 minutes into the first half when the coach had to quickly modify what was planned. The first news is not good: once halftime arrived, in which he was even consoled by “Ciclón” footballers, they helped him get to the locker room, where the inspections and tests by the doctors began. There they began to realize that the focus of the studies will be on the ligaments of that knee. Without the reports and images in hand, Boca is already holding their heads.
Cavani appeared after a beautiful play
The first half was closing, but the local team was already suggesting that they had recovered from San Lorenzo’s early goal. Until he found spaces and the possibility of triangulating in a great way between three of the four midfielders: Ezequiel Fernández filtered for Zenón, he threw a pipe at Jhohan Romaña so that the ball reached Cristian Medina’s pivot and the young midfielder gently slapped the ball to assist Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan got comfortable into the area and crossed his shot: seventh goal in his last five games.
Zenón accelerated and Merentiel made Bombonera delirious
After a development in the second half in which the midfield of both teams split due to the exposure of great exhaustion due to the intensity of the first half, the tie seemed to suit the game better, although it served neither of them. And it was broken thanks to the great play that Boca put together in the 38th minute: Kevin Zenón decided to press the accelerator, break lines, combine a good wall with the entered Darío Benedetto and, in the attempt to define over Facundo Altamirano, he ended up assisting to Miguel Merentiel: the “Beast”, who had replaced Cavani at halftime due to the Uruguayan’s physical discomfort, was enabled by the quick return of Agustín Giay and pushed the ball into the net.
An example of a collective character from Boca (and by those who entered), in which they had to recover from a blow at the dawn of the match and even the rapid fall of Blondel: a fundamental piece for the coach, awaits the studies to know your diagnosis. However, the team is already beginning to know that they could lose him for a long time.