Football is made up of moments and Boca He did not take advantage of the tailwind of the victory in the superclassic. Although he had good football passages, received two blows at the beginning of the second half and brings Brazil a worrying defeat. Fell for 4 a 2 compared to Fortaleza in Ceará and continues second in group B of the South American Cupbut now five points behind the Brazilian team.
Boca started out erratic, imprecise, disjointed. Before three minutes were up, three bad deliveries in exits led to clear goal situations in favor of the local team. Juan Lucerofrom the crescent, defined over the crossbar. Yago Pikachu, from a corner of the area, threw a meter outside. The third time was the charm: Equi Fernandez committed to Nicolas Figalthe defender tied the ball in a knot and Tomas Pochettino left Lucero face to face with the goal.
Boca couldn’t stand in the middle and suffered when going backwards. The field, to make matters worse, did not provide guarantees of a controllable ball either. And Fortaleza, with five Argentines from the start, was willing to increase the advantage. But Boca, as the minutes passed, became friendly with the ball. He put together passes, occupied the spaces better, regained confidence. Grew up Christian MedinaEqui grew, came into play Miguel Merentiel. And the blue and gold team, in its first full attack, did not forgive: low center of Jabes Saralegui and preview of the Beast, who had just scored two goals in his dream afternoon at the Mario Kempes stadium.
The tie caused a certain calm in the visitor, who took advantage of Fortaleza’s nervousness and went on to arrive clearly. With Frank Fabra (left foot shot over the crossbar), with Luca Gate (in front of the goal, he did not connect), with Merentiel (they covered him just right), with one of the weapons with which he best attacks in this cycle: the overflow to the outside. His mouth was more, but he also suffered in defense. Pikachu, the host’s brain, had two clear chances and two shots from outside. Also Joseph Welison It made Chiquito shine. And Lucero, in the first chance of the second stage, made it 2-1 with a header.
In the second half Boca came out asleep again. She lost her balance, her marks, her attention. And Fortaleza had no mercy. Pikachu, the best along with Lucero (Saralegui, like against Estudiantes, lost the mark), finished with two good finishes at 10 and 18 minutes. Boca looked for solutions on the bench, but the distance on the scoreboard was already too wide. The income of Luis Advíncula y Kevin Zenon (the best, even with a few minutes on the court) were not enough for Boca to react in time. He did manage, at least, to reduce the difference and put some justice in the result, with a shot from the midfielder himself that came from Unión. The visitor had more of the ball, yes, but it hardly hurt.
Led by Juan Pablo Vojvoda, Fortaleza was, like Paranaense and Racing, one of the three teams that had the ideal score among the 32 participants, and like Boca, had not conceded goals. Furthermore, they had never lost at home against Argentine clubs. For its part, the Xeneize team had a draw and three defeats in Brazil for the Sudamericana. Taking something away was, on paper, a good result. But Boca suffered its first defeat in the 2024 version of the tournament.
Fortress Compact 4 vs. Boca Juniors 2
The South American Cupit is clear, It is not a priority for Diego Martínez’s Boca. Against Nacional, in the height of Bolivia, the coach planted an alternative lineup taking into account the proximity of the match against Newell’s, important in the definition of the League Cup. Against Trinidense in La Bombonera he used only four starters (Romero, Pol Fernández, Edinson Cavani and Merentiel). And this Thursday, in Brazil, he once again opted for a mix, with notable absences, such as those of Marcos Rojo, Cavani and Lautaro Blanco and the novelty of Fabra as a left midfielder. Martínez’s decision to preserve the starters sounds logical. On Tuesday, Boca will play against Estudiantes in a semi-final for the League Cup.
The xeneize sights are set on that intersection, again in Córdoba. The definition of the group stage of the Sudamericana will remain for the second week of May, after a hypothetical participation in the final of the League Cup against Argentinos or Vélez in Santiago’s Madre de Ciudades. For the Boca Cup they must visit Trinidense and receive Fortaleza and Nacional. Nothing impossible for the blue and gold team, which will seek first place to advance to the round of 16, or at least second, to settle against one of the third places in the Copa Libertadores zone for a round of 32.
But that’s hypothetical. Now all guns are pointed at Estudiantes. There will be time to know how much this defeat in Brazil hurts.