2 – 2
“Santiago Ascacíbar broke the deadlock for Boca Juniors, finishing off a corner sequence in which Sebastián Villa Cano had seen two shots blocked before the midfielder found the net from Villa Cano's assist.”
Pivotal“Newell's drew level through Matías Cóccaro, assisted by Facundo Guch, just five minutes into the second half — a rapid response that shifted the momentum firmly towards the hosts.”
Pivotal“In a remarkable individual subplot, Luca Regiardo — booked just six minutes earlier — put Newell's ahead through Tomás Ríos's assist, giving the hosts a lead that seemed to be holding until the closing stages.”
Pivotal“Alan Velasco, introduced as a substitute at 75', was yellow-carded at 80' then produced the decisive moment of his evening — firing home to make it 2-2 and deny Newell's a famous victory over Boca Juniors.”
Pivotal
Newell's Old Boys
Boca Juniors
Outstanding performance
Boca Juniors•MidfielderBoca Juniors arrived at the Coloso del Parque as the dominant force on paper, controlling 60% of possession, completing 403 passes, and creating five big chances — but they managed to squander four of them in what was ultimately a frustrating night for Fernando Gago's side. Santiago Ascacíbar gave Boca the lead on the half-hour through a well-worked set-piece sequence involving Sebastián Villa Cano, but Newell's refused to be overrun and responded impressively after the break. Matías Cóccaro levelled within five minutes of the restart before a yellow-carded Luca Regiardo — who had been booked just six minutes earlier — audaciously turned provider to put the hosts ahead at 59', a lead that looked like it might hold. However, substitute Alan Velasco, on the pitch for barely six minutes, crashed home the equaliser at 81' to deny Newell's what would have been a deserved and hard-fought win. For Boca, it is a point that feels short of what their territorial dominance warranted; for Newell's, who made more of their nine shots than the statistics suggest, it is a dropped two points in what was a fiercely contested title-race context.
How entertaining was this match?
Corner awarded.
Blas Benedetto comes on for Lautaro Rios.
Valentino Acuna is on, and Facundo Guch is off.
Bruno Cabrera comes on for Franco Nicolas Escobar.
Leonel Flores takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Tomas Aranda takes a left-footed shot that hits the post.
Corner awarded.
Shot - Milton Gimenez Head Shot Missed
Corner awarded.
On comes Lucas Gómez, off goes David Sotelo.
Tomas Aranda takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Sebastián VillaShot by Sebastian Villa Cano with his left foot results in a goal.
assist: Tomás Aranda
Goal! Sebastian Villa scores, bringing the match to 2-2.
Sebastián VillaYellow CardYellow card for Sebastian Villa Cano.
Leandro Lozano comes on for Dylan Gorosito.
On Sebastian Villa Cano, off Sebastian Villa Cano.
Leonel Flores takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Corner awarded.
Leandro ParedesYellow CardLeandro Daniel Paredes receives a yellow card.
Juan Ignacio Ramirez Polero comes on for Matias Coccaro.
Milton Gimenez is on, and Miguel Merentiel is off.
Sebastian Villa Cano takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Luca RegiardoLuca Regiardo scores with a right-footed shot.
assist: Thomas Rios
Goal! Luca Regiardo scores to make it 2-1, assisted by Tomas Rios.
Sebastian Villa Cano takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Sebastian Villa Cano takes a shot with his right foot, but it is blocked.
Yellow card issued to Luca Regiardo.
Facundo Guch takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Matias Coccaro scores with a right-footed shot.
Matias Coccaro scores with a right-footed shot.
assist: Facundo Guch
Goal! Matias Coccaro scores to make it 1-1, assisted by Facundo Guch.
Leonel Flores takes a right-footed shot, but it misses the target.
Luca Regiardo takes a left-footed shot but misses.
First half ends with the score at 0-1.
Facundo Guch takes a shot, but it's blocked.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Ayrton CostaYellow CardYellow card shown to Ayrton Enrique Costa.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Lautaro GiannettiYellow CardLautaro Gianetti receives a yellow card.
Lautaro Gianetti receives a yellow card.
Walter Mazzantti attempts a header but misses the shot.
Shot - Santiago Ascacibar Head Shot Goal
assist: Sebastián Villa
Goal! Santiago Ascacibar scores to make it 1-0, assisted by Sebastian Villa Cano.
Sebastian Villa Cano takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Sebastian Villa Cano takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Miguel Merentiel takes a header, but it hits the post.
Miguel Merentiel takes a shot with his head, but it hits the post.
Corner awarded.
Offside.
Miguel Merentiel's left-footed shot is saved.
Corner awarded.
Kick-off! The referee is Andres Merlos.
Two sides sitting level on points meet at Estadio Marcelo Bielsa in what promises to be a tense, low-scoring affair. Boca Juniors arrive desperate for their first points of the 2nd Phase, while Newell's look to climb away from the bottom half on home soil in this classic Rosario-vs-Buenos Aires rivalry.
