1-0: Boca won the controversial Superclásico and was one step away from the title
La Bombonera beats stronger than ever because Boca is a party. They beat River (1-0) and are one game away from becoming champion of the Annual Tournament. It is the third Superclassic consecutive catches without conceding goals. Leandro Paredes and all the players engage in a sensational back-and-forth with their fans in celebration. The joy is total because it also symbolizes a sweet, full present, which invites you to dream of multiple titles at the end of 2026.
Behind them was a Superclásico that Boca won fairly, without shining despite the fact that they played almost all the time with one more man. But he knew how to squeeze the naivety of Lucas Martínez Quarta that led to his early expulsionthen he took advantage of a play with a stopped ball and then dedicated himself to controlling the situation without getting hurt. In the middle, River and its anger against the refereeing, the great issue that left the biggest game in Argentine soccer that this time was indebted to the game.
The Superclásico lost its normality too quickly, at 9 minuteswhen River was badly stopped behind and Lucas Martínez Quartaonce again the villain of million-dollar frustrations, was correctly expelled via VAR for rudely hugging and turning around Miguel Merentiel, who was alone going one-on-one with goalkeeper Santiago Beltrán.
River, then, had to play almost the entire game with one less man, in a more than adverse context. Right there he lost his center forward Lucas Beltrán, who came out immediately to allow the entry of Lautaro Rivero and the rearming of the line of four defenders. Thus he attacked only with what Thiago Almada and Ángel Correa could generate, always surrounded, far from the rival goal and without passing options.
In this favorable scenario, Boca never had any surpriseshandled the ball and controlled everything, although without the ingenuity to take advantage of the numerical superiority and transform it into dangerous situations. It cost him an immensity to hurt a River with one less man because Leonel Flores and Sebastián Villa did not weigh on the outside and because the lateral markers with River so far behind could never surprise with their projections. For some reason the xeneizes ended up winning with a goal in a stopped ball play.
One of the virtues of Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s team is the aerial game. He has excellent kickers and very good headers. It became clear 27 minutes into the first half. Sebastián Villa took a corner kick that led to the Lautaro Di Lollo’s eighth header goalthe young central marker who escaped Lautaro Rivero’s mark and nailed it next to a post.
Afterwards, almost no football and almost all tensions and protests, with referee Nicolás Ramírez and VAR judge Silvio Trucco singled out by River in particular for two situations. The millionaires ended up wondering as soon as the microphone was crossed and on social networks why Lautaro Blanco was only cautioned in the 57th minute for a foul very similar to the one in the 79th minute that meant the expulsion of Gonzalo Montiel. And they also rightly claimed an ultra-obvious grab on Nicolás Otamendi in a corner that Ramírez did not see on the field and that Trucco believed was no reason to summon the referee to observe it in the VAR.
In the end, River found more reasons to victimize itself again and to suspect that the arbitration damages are not a coincidence and that everything has to do with its terrible relationship with the AFA, a political war declared long ago. Of course, what River could not explain was why he never managed to assert himself in the game and almost did not kick on goal in the 90 minutes.
Boca is in another story. It doesn’t blur. He wants to be champion of the Annual Tournament. He has one match left, the next one against Defensa y Justicia. With a victory, he will celebrate. It will be the time not to fail.
