Boca Juniors beat Sao Paulo 1-0 at La Bombonera on Tuesday in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal, taking a narrow aggregate lead into next week's return match in Brazil rather than settling the tie outright.
Miguel Merentiel scored the game's only goal in the 52nd minute, converting a rebound off Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rafael during a scramble inside the box after Boca worked the ball down the right side. The result leaves Boca needing only a draw in the second leg on September 15 at Sao Paulo's Estadio do Morumbi to advance; Sao Paulo must win by two goals or more to reach the semifinals outright, or by exactly one to force extra time.
The match's other flashpoint came when referee Piero Maza, of Chile, initially showed a red card to Sao Paulo defender Domingos Duarte for a challenge on Boca midfielder Leandro Paredes. A VAR review overturned the decision, with Maza determining Paredes had committed the foul rather than the other way around, and no card was ultimately shown to either player.
Boca goalkeeper Alvaro Montero made several saves to preserve the clean sheet, including a first-half stop on a header from Sao Paulo's Luciano. Boca lined up with Montero; Lozano, Di Lollo, Herrera and Blanco across the back; Ascacibar, Paredes and Belmonte in midfield; and Velasco, Merentiel and Villa up front, under manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena. Sao Paulo, managed by Dorival Junior, started Rafael in goal behind Sabino, Arboleda, Duarte and Wendell, with Marcos Antonio, Danielzinho and Ramon in midfield and Santana, Artur and Luciano leading the attack.
The winner advances to face either Independiente Santa Fe of Colombia or Vasco da Gama of Brazil, who drew 0-0 in the first leg of their own quarterfinal tie. Both Boca, a two-time Copa Sudamericana champion, and Sao Paulo, a one-time champion in 2012, have been continental fixtures for decades, and Dorival Junior described the matchup before kickoff as a clasico between two of South America's most historic clubs.
Source: La Nacion; Infobae; El Intransigente; Minuto Uno; Cooperativa.cl; CONMEBOL.