At the Maracanã, with more than 66,000 people in the stands and Rio de Janeiro watching a tie turn against its home side, Boca Juniors found their route to the Copa Sudamericana final. Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Vasco overturned the Argentine club’s first-leg deficit and sent their travelling party out of the stadium in full celebration.
A night turned in Boca’s favour
Vasco had arrived with a 1-0 advantage from the opening match, but Boca reshaped the contest in the return leg through goals from Lautaro Di Lollo, Miguel Merentiel and Leandro Paredes.
- Di Lollo put Boca on their way in Rio.
- Merentiel, scorer of Boca’s second goal, extended the visitors’ control of the semi-final.
- Puma Rodríguez pulled one back for Vasco during the second half.
- Paredes sealed the 3-1 result late on with a strike from outside the penalty area.
The final score eliminated the Rio club and gave Boca progression on aggregate after they had lost the first encounter. For the visitors, it was an evening shaped by resilience in a vast, hostile setting rather than by the caution normally associated with protecting a narrow tie.
Music in the corridors of the Maracanã
The celebrations had begun in Boca’s dressing room, where the sound of the squad could be heard by journalists waiting outside. They continued as the delegation prepared to leave the stadium, with loud music accompanying the players through the mixed zone.
Merentiel conducted his post-match interview amid the noise, at one point competing with a speaker being carried by one of his team-mates. The forward also addressed an episode involving Thiago Mendes, who had shared an artificial-intelligence-generated image depicting himself tearing Boca’s crest.
Paredes regarded the image as disrespectful towards Boca, while the Argentine side’s players focused their immediate attention on the scale of their qualification in Rio.
A third continental crown remains possible
Boca are now one match from a third Copa Sudamericana title. Their previous triumphs came in 2004 and 2005, and the club will learn their final opponent after Atlético-MG face Montevideo City Torque.
- Final: 21 November
- Venue: Barranquilla, Colombia
- Opponent: Atlético-MG or Montevideo City Torque
The road from the Maracanã now leads north to Colombia, with Boca carrying both the momentum of a comeback and the prospect of restoring a competition they once won in successive seasons.
