Author: Vishwajit Sawant
In a thrilling Conmebol Libertadores semi-final clash, Boca Juniors and Palmeiras drew 1-1 in normal time, before the Argentinian side booked their place in the final with a 4-2 win on penalties. Boca Juniors’ stars, led by goalkeeper Sergio Romero, shone brightly on this memorable night at Allianz Parque.
Throughout their knockout campaign, Boca Juniors have shown a tendency to draw, with six consecutive draws. The journey began with a tense last-16 clash against Nacional, which ended 0-0 and 2-2 (a 4-2 penalty shootout win). In the quarter-finals, they faced Racing, with two more goalless draws (winning 4-1 on penalties). The semi-final against Palmeiras continued the trend, with a 0-0 draw in Buenos Aires and a 1-1 draw in Brazil. However, Boca Juniors showed their skill in the penalty shootout, triumphing in all of these thrilling encounters.
Remarkably, Boca Juniors maintained their impeccable record against Palmeiras in the Libertadores playoffs. The team had already eliminated Verdão in the semi-finals in 2001 and 2018, as well as winning the title in 2000. In all of these clashes, Palmeiras had the opportunity to turn the tide in the return leg in São Paulo, but failed to do so in every edition, with three of the four matches decided on penalties.
The match followed a simple scenario: Palmeiras pressed (the goal ratio was 24 to 3 in their favor), Romero defended and Boca made dangerous and effective attacks. This strategy paid off when Merentiel took advantage of a mistake by the Palmeiras defense, outpaced Gustavo Gómez and gave Cavani a clear shot – 0-1. Despite a few attempts from Rony, including a bicycle kick and a header, Palmeiras were unable to break the deadlock.
In the second half, Palmeiras made substitutions, with Kevin and Endrick coming on in place of Artur and Marcos Rocha, which led to a better performance. Endrick created the best chance, finding Mayke in a promising position, but the defender was unable to take advantage. In the 67th minute. Boca were reduced to ten men when Rojo was sent off after a foul on Endrick, prompting Abel Ferreira to push his team forward, including bringing on Flaco López. Palmeiras finally managed to open the scoring with a goal from Piquerez from outside the area, surprising Romero. In extra time, Rony had a golden opportunity to seal the win with a bicycle kick, but Romero’s save ensured the match was decided on penalties.
Considering that in the 1/8 and 1/4 Boca won on penalties, for Palmeiras this was not the best option to determine the winner.
The goalkeepers saved the first shots of the series, troubling Cavani and Viega. Second shots: Valdez scored for Boca and Gomez’s shot was saved by Romero. The opponents executed the third and fourth blows with precision. Fifth blows: Everton had to defend Fernandez’s attempt to keep the series going, but… Boca in the final. On November 4, at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, they will face Fluminense.