Rio de Janeiro will stage a decisive South American night at the Maracanã after Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice rejected a request from Flamengo and Fluminense to prevent Vasco da Gama’s Copa Sudamericana semi-final return leg against Boca Juniors from being played there.
The ruling leaves Vasco with home advantage in the city’s great stadium on Tuesday, where they will defend the 1-0 lead earned in Buenos Aires. Boca arrive knowing that a one-goal victory would take the tie to penalties, while any win by a margin of two or more would send the Argentine club through to the final.
Boca find their response in Buenos Aires
Before crossing the continent for Rio, Boca used Friday evening at La Bombonera to recover from an early setback against Talleres in the 13th round of Argentina’s Clausura. Talleres went ahead after 11 minutes through Galarza, but Miguel Merentiel levelled seven minutes later and Flores completed the turnaround shortly after half-time in a 2-1 win.
The result kept Boca second in Group A on 24 points, five behind leaders Instituto. More importantly for the journey ahead, coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena gave much of his established side a competitive outing, though his selection was markedly different from the XI used against Vasco in the first leg.
Only Ayrton Costa, Rodrigo Battaglia and Angel Romero started both the match against Vasco at La Bombonera on Tuesday and the victory over Talleres. The rotation offered Boca a chance to build rhythm without exposing every first-choice player immediately before the semi-final’s second chapter.
Paredes hopes to join the travelling party
Captain Leandro Paredes was not included in Friday’s squad, although he was present at the stadium with the Boca delegation. The 32-year-old midfielder, a World Cup winner, suffered a muscular injury last Friday after playing only 15 minutes of Boca’s 2-2 draw with Instituto in Córdoba.
There remains hope that Paredes can travel to Brazil and become available for the contest at the Maracanã. His potential return would add experience to a Boca side chasing an away result, while Vasco seek to turn a narrow first-leg advantage into a place in the Copa Sudamericana final.
