Boca Juniors advanced to the Copa Sudamericana semifinals on September 16 after drawing 1-1 with São Paulo in Brazil, winning the quarterfinal tie 2-1 on aggregate.
Domingos Duarte headed São Paulo level in the 89th minute at the Morumbí, but it was not enough to overturn Boca’s 1-0 first-leg win at the Bombonera. Leandro Lozano had put Boca ahead in the 60th minute.
The finish was nervy. A São Paulo goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review, and on a late Boca counterattack Santiago Ascacíbar put a chance to seal the tie just wide.
The match was overshadowed before kickoff by an attack on Boca’s team bus, which arrived in São Paulo with damaged windows after being struck by objects thrown by fans.
Boca will face Brazil’s Vasco da Gama in the semifinals, with the first leg scheduled for October 13-14 and the return match on October 20-21. Vasco hosts the second leg. The other semifinal will be decided between the winners of Santos-Atlético Mineiro and Cienciano-Montevideo City Torque. The final is set for November 21 at Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Boca is the only Argentine club left in this year’s Copa Sudamericana, one round from a place in the final of South America’s second-tier club competition.