Sid Lowe’s report will appear below shortly:
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Glum-looking Boca players, and staff, are going up to collect their runners-up medals. Some are in tears, other more stern. River Plate, meanwhile, are getting the party started. They’ll be up bouncing on the podium in no time ...
River Plate win 2018 Copa Libertadores!
River are champions of south America! There are tears of joy at one end, tears of despair at the other. In the end, it was a deserved victory for Rive who, after a sloppy first 45 minutes, asserted their grip on an entertaining game, a riveting match-up between two household names of Argentinian football. Benedetto had opened the scoring for Boca, but Pratto pulled River level to take the game to extra-time and, after going down to 10 men, they were eventually punished. Quintero scored the decisive goal into the second half of extra-time, a stunner from distance, before Martínez put the gloss on their fourth Libertadores title.
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GOAL! River 3-1 Boca (Martínez, 120)
Job done. River scamper upfield on the counter, with Boca throwing everybody forward including goalkeeper Andrada, and Martínez punishes them. He sprints 50 yards to roll it into the net and it’s heartbreak for Boca.
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120 min: Boca hit the post!!!! Leonardo Jara’s effort cannons off the woodwork, but they get a corner. Tevez is booked. Boca corner ...
119 min: River Plate are almost there.
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118 min: Zuculini tries and fails to lob Andrada.
116 min: Alvarez has a golden chance to finish the game off, but his effort at a comfortable height for Andrada to deal with. Meanwhile, Boca are down to nine men, with Gago limping down the tunnel. It’s against-all-odds kind of stuff now. River have three minutes or so to cling on to victory.
115 min: River repel a couple of corners, while Armani does well to gather a ferocious effort by Fernando Gago from the edge of the box. Both teams are supercharged, one trying to eke over the line, the other desperate to restore parity.
113 min: Boca are throwing the kitchen sink at River. Tevez wins a corner .. the goalkeeper Andrada is up. It’s all-or-nothing time for Boca.
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111 min: Carlos Tevez is on for Boca. Buffarini off.
110 min: Boca almost go up the other end and find an equaliser! Abila causes problems in the box, and the River defender almost divert Nandez’s cross past his own goalkeeper. Pinola roars at his team-mates to focus, having totally switched off there. They were half-asleep and that was an almighty scare.
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GOAL! River 2-1 Boca (Quintero, 109)
What a goal! And will that be the winner? Juan Fernando Quintero lashes in beyond Andrada from the edge of the 18-yard box. Slid in from the right, he took a touch to steady himself before unleashing at goal. That’s an absolute beauty by the Colombian.
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107 min: River are suddenly darting about, as though someone has just told them that they have an extra man. Boca have not rolled over.
106 min: River restart things.
Half-time (aet): River 1-1 Boca (3-3 agg)
At this rate, penalties are fast approaching.
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105 min: One added minute. Boca win a free-kick, deep inside their own half.
103 min: Martínez is unmarked at the back post, but he volleys harmlessly over from a corner.
102 min: Julian Alvarez, the 18-year-old substitute, flashes an effort wide for River. Oh, what a storyline that would have been.
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101 min: River are struggling to make the numerical advantage count. That sending-off seems to have given Boca, if anyone, a boost. They’re hunting in packs, desperately trying to keep River at bay.
97 min: River attempt to up the ante. It’s all hands to the pump, and they get a corner as Castro prospers down the left. In the end, the ball drops for Quintero but the midfielder drives over. Meanwhile, the Boca goalkeeper Andrada is down with a timely bout of cramp. That will eke out a few more seconds.
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96 min: Quintero tries to pick up a neat crossfield ball, but the ball eludes him. And now River make a change, with Palacios withdrawn and replaced by Alvarez.
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95 min: Villa is sacrificed for Boca, with Leonardo Jara on.
93 min: That’s a big blow for Boca, who were already struggling to contain a River team that had picked holes in their back line. Will that prevent Tevez from entering? Maybe. Boca will presumably be playing for penalties.
Red card! Barrios (92 min)
Barrios picks up a second yellow card for a studs-showing lunge on Palacios. It’s not pretty, and the referee sends him packing.
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91 min: For the second time, we’re back under way in Madrid.
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Will this final ever end? We will have half an hour of extra-time, and then possibly penalties. Lovely stuff. Boca look on their knees, River revitalised.
Full-time: River 1-1 Boca (3-3 agg)
We’re heading for extra-time in Madrid.
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90+3 min: A few bouts of cramp to end a brilliant 90 minutes. Buffarini is among those struggling. River look healthier going into an inevitable extra-time period.
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90+1 min: A huge bouncing ball downfield almost evades everybody, but Armani reads it, just as Pavon was dangerously lurking. Back come River.
90 min: There will be three added minutes.
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89 min: Pablo Pérez is replaced by Gago. That’s Boca’s second change. Gago knows this stadium very well, having played for Real Madrid.
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88 min: Fernando Gago is being readied for Boca.
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86 min: Barrios takes one for the team, wrestling Martínez to the ground on halfway. Boca, it must be said, look absolutely knackered.
84 min: Martínez tries to beat Buffarini, but the Boca full-back this time stands firm. Can either team find a late winner?
82 min: Maidana crunches through the heels of Abila, and earns a booking for his efforts. As it stands, we’re heading for extra-time and penalties.
81 min: Boca waste another free-kick, with Villa’s effort sailing miles over.
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80 min: Olaza, eventually, drives at goal, but River hack the ball away. But Boca win another free-kick, this time 30 yards from goal. Fernández is booked.
77 min: Nandez shapes to shoot, but boot wellies Pinola’s foot! The referee – slightly oddly, and wrongly – awards an indirect free-kick. Abila looks set to take it. How Tevez must wish he could have a go.
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76 min: Boca win a free-kick on halfway, after a River handball. A little respite, or can they conjure up something more than that?
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75 min: Boca look tired, weary and heavy-legged. Barrios, Perez and Villa have gone missing. River are growing in confidence all the time.
73 min: A River change: Montiel is replaced by Mayada. Boca are yet to tweak personnel, though Tevez, Zarate and co are all warming up.
72 min: Martínez skips down the left past Buffarini, sliding in an inviting ball for Pratto, who comes alive in the box but his effort is blocked. River are very much in the ascendency. Carlos Tevez-time must be approaching for Boca.
70 min: River are champing at the bit, Boca painfully flat.
69 min: Martínez whips in a testing ball from the left and the pendulum has very much swung in River’s favour. A penny for Benedetto’s thoughts.
GOAL! River 1-1 Boca (Pratto, 68)
It had been coming. Lucas Pratto, the former Boca striker, converts from close range, a fine finish after another slick River move.
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65 min: River are really trying to turn the screw. A good move forward ends with a cross stood up towards the front post for Pratto. He gets his header on target but it is tame, and too easy for Andrada to gather. The Boca goalkeeper takes the sting out of another River attack. Only one team look like scoring at the moment.
64 min: River are dominating the ball, without having anything to show for it – yet. Pablo Perez is struggling to assert the authority he had on this game in the first 45 minutes. Boca as a whole have been playing second-fiddle so far this half.
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61 min: Benedetto, the Boca goalscorer and potentially the match-winner, is replaced by Abila. That may give Boca more scope to retain possession as this game moves into its latter stages.
60 min: Quintero does well in midfield, and wins a River corner. But any pressure is short-lived. Boca win a free-kick, with Izquierdoz taking a bang from Pinola.
59 min: Quintero plays in Casco with his first touch, but the River full-back cannot quite latch on to the pass, instead flying into the advertising hoardings. Casco has been unable to bomb forward often, but that was a nice idea at least.
58 min: Andrada is up and moving after receiving some treatment for that clash with the River striker. And now they make that change, with Ponzio replaced by Quintero. A seemingly sensible move.
55 min: Penalty appeal waved away! The ball is dinked through, with Magallan caught out defensively. A clash between Pratto and Andrada, but the River striker is adamant it’s a penalty. And he may well have a point, with the goalkeeper wiping out the forward, though Pratto’s boot is high. VAR is in use, but is not called on. Quintero’s being readied for River. A Boca free-kick is given.
54 min: Olaza’s free-kick is harmless, with his effort cannoning into the wall. Can Boca build on that or will River reassume control?
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52 min: Pinola fouls Benedetto on the edge of the 18-yard box. It’s a beautiful position for someone to hit it, for someone to make himself a hero ..
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51 min: Andrada does well, with Martínez striking at goal from distance. For a moment, it looks as though it could trouble the Boca goalkeeper, with Pratto disguising its route to goal, but Andrada gets there. Boca have what looks like dozens of substitutes warming up.
50 min: It’s been all River this half, all five minutes and counting.
49 min: Fernández links well with Pratto on the edge of the box, with the River midfielder sending an effort darting wide of the post. Down on the touchline, Carlos Tevez is warming up for an inevitable introduction.
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47 min: Maidana meets it – but heads over! River have started with plenty of intensity, almost as if they got a dose of the hairdryer at half-time. Martínez, in particular, has been busy, with River attempting to get on the front foot.
46 min: We’re back under way in Madrid. Can Boca hold on? River win an early corner after good work by Montiel. Martínez will swing it in.
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Half-time: River 0-1 Boca
Advantage Boca.
45+1 min: The ball breaks kindly for Boca and, suddenly, it’s 4 v 3 against the River defence, but Benedetto’s pass is poor. He takes the wrong option, slowing the game down by looking to his right when Pavon was unmarked on his left.
45 min: We will have two minutes of added time.
45 min: Pinola flies through Benedetto in frustration. The Boca end is truly bouncing. It was a fine finish, a slick counter.
GOAL! River 0-1 Boca (Benedetto, 44)
Benedetto strikes, dropping to his knees in front of a sea of roaring supporters. Boca countered upfield superbly, and the striker applied a composed finish beyond Armani. It could have been so different, had River made the most of a gilt-edged chance moments before after a mistake by Andrada.
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42 min: A bit of argy-bargy ensues, after a meaty challenge, with the referee booking Pablo Perez for a lunge on Enzo Pérez.
40 min: Boca go close, but Armani does brilliantly to claw the ball away from Benedetto. A brave, two-handed save kickstarted a River counterattack, with Montiel bombing forward 70 yards to attack. The final pass lets River down, with Martinez driving harmlessly over.
38 min: River are attempting to settle things down. It’s all a bit pedestrian, but then, it’s better than Boca having the ball. River look a little predictable.
37 min: All of the lads are in the house:
Dybala ✅
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 9, 2018
Bonucci ✅
Chiellini ✅
Simeone ✅
Zanetti ✅
Some big names in attendance at the #CopaLibertadoresFinal tonight 🙌 pic.twitter.com/iTbSA2kxQA
35 min: Pablo Perez, for one, is absolutely pumped. Boca do seem a little zippier at the moment, with River more flat. Right on cue, Ponzio pings a wild pass straight out for a goal-kick. Boca will be feeling quietly confident.
33 min: Nandez does brilliantly for Boca, wriggling away from not one but two River shirts, before winning his team a foul on halfway. Boca have had the two big chances, and have dominated the last 10 minutes or so. River’s play has been a bit bitty, with Palacios and Pratto largely alienated.
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30 min: River go straight up the other end, with Pratto going over in the box but the referee is unmoved. Just the one booking so far.
29 min: Boca go close! Benedetto’s strike is poor but, deflected by the River wall, it causes havoc. It drops kindly for Perez, who pings an effort goalwards. It is blocked and the ball duly loops up into the air, but Nandez cannot reach it. Boca thought they had scored for a moment. It whistled past the post.
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27 min: We have a yellow card, with Ponzio going into the book. It was a hearty challenge on Nandez, but it was one of the cleaner tackles in this game. Boca earn a free-kick right on the edge of the box. They’re queuing up to take it. Perez fancies it.
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25 min: Boca’s Barrios is fouled, and they have another chance to pile on some pressure. Maidana initially repels the ball in, but Perez tries to keep it alive, before Villa takes over. A neat spell of pressure for Boca.
22 min: Maidana upends Villa on the wing, as River hand Boca another free-kick on a plate. Villa’s trickery caused problems, but the resulting ball in doesn’t, with a deep free-kick evading everybody. River look vulnerable at the back.
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21 min: Pavon causes panic, and Boca hack the ball away for a corner. River twice nervously cleared to a blue shirt, before eventually alleviating danger.
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20 min: Ponzio gifts Boca a free-kick on halfway, a chance to have a breather of sorts and regain some territory. It’s all ebbed and flowed nicely so far.
18 min: River win a corner ... it’s played short, a training ground routine – but Fernández ultimately makes a mess of it. His left-footed effort is always rising, with the ball angling up into the Gods of the Bernabéu.
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17 min: Izquierdoz makes another crucial interception to prevent Pratto from finding joy down the left flank. The full-back is being dragged all over the place by the River forward, but just about holding his own. River are enjoying perhaps their best spell of this game.
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15 min: River win another free-kick, with Buffarini pulled up for a clumsy foul 25 yards or from goal. It’s played short, but Pavon does well to hound out Pratto.
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13 min: And then Boca promptly whack the ball straight out of play. It’s all a bit nervy at the moment. Nobody wants to be the one that makes the mistake, or the butt of the jokes in Argentina tomorrow morning.
12 min: Boca win a free-kick deep inside their own half, with Nández fouled just as River seemed to be growing into the ascendency.
11 min: Pablo Perez – the man whose eye injury played a large part in the last game getting called off – has been ubiquitous for Boca.
9 min: Boca chance! Pavon steals possession in halfway, owing to a poor pass out the back by River. Olaza then whips the ball in, and Maidana swings a leg at it. It could have gone anywhere – the huge gasp inside the stadium tells you as much – but in the end it runs out for a corner. Perez hits the target at the back post when it comes in, stabbing an effort at Armani, with Montiel totally absent.
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7 min: River boot a long ball up to Palacios, but Magallan and Andrada snuff it out. No problem. Time for some Boca possession.
6 min: Boca take an age to get play back started from the throw-in, seemingly in an attempt to wrestle some control of the game. The ball ends up back with Andrada, who soon wellies the ball upfield. And then another crunching challenge by Pablo Perez. It’s a matter of time before the Boca captain goes into the book.
5 min: Martínez twists and turns before arriving at the byline, but eventually he overruns the ball. River have started the livelier. Madrid is bouncing.
4 min: It’s flighted in towards the back post, but Izquierdoz nods clear.
2 min: Benedetto cannot control the ball, and River turnover possession. They fly forward, and the referee is quick to have a word with Magallan. River win a free-kick 20 yards or so from goal ...
1 min: River get tight to Pablo Perez, and the Boca midfielder ends up rolling on the floor, clutching his ankle. It was a late challenge.
Peeeeeeeeeeep!
The Copa Libertadores final second leg is under way. Six thousand miles away from home, Boca and Rivers fans have Madrid rocking.
Here we go then! We’ve had the pre-match formalities, the national anthem. The football, at long last, is up next at the Bernabéu.
Essential pre-match reading:
Lionel Messi, and his son, are among the thousands in Madrid to watch the final. He is not the only one, with Slavisa Jokanovic also in situ. Messi is unlikely to have paid for a ticket but, according to AFP, the 20,000 tickets allocated to fans in Spain and elsewhere sold out within hours but some of the 5,000 for residents in Argentina remain available. The cost, and short notice, is likely to have put them off. Around 2,500 police officers are expected to attend. Outside, the Paseo de la Castellana, the road that runs from the city centre to the stadium, has been closed off since 9am local time, as police seek to keep rival fans apart.
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Good news: both team coaches arrived safely at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid without any bother, escorted by Spanish police every step of the way. That hasn’t stopped a feverish atmosphere building in the city, with Boca and River fans going bananas, jumping up and down throughout most of the day as the realisation that this match should actually happen – at last. Six thousand miles away and 15 days later than planned, at least. There is an army of security, a layer or two round the entire stadium, a sea of half-and-half scarves and the sweet smell of anticipation.
This will whet the appetite, should you need to:
The teams!
Boca Juniors: Andrada; Buffarini, Izquierdoz, Magallán, Olaza; Nández, Barrios, Pablo Pérez, Villa; Pavón, Benedetto
Subs: Rossi, Goltz, Gago, Abila, Zarate, Tevez, Jara
River Plate: Armani; Maidana, Montiel, Pinola, Casco; Ponzio, Enzo Pérez, Fernández; Martínez, Pratto, Palacios
Subs: Lux, Zuculini, Nunez, Quintero, Alvarez, Mesa, Quarta
Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)
Preamble
Copa Libertadores final, take three: action! And we almost never made it this far, given Boca Juniors’ late attempt to postpone the second leg was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). Carlos Tevez, the Boca striker, said it was “embarrassing for the people” to see the final moved to Madrid, after the initial match in Buenos Aires was marred by a River fans attacking the Boca team bus, with talk of tear gas and shards of glass dominating the discourse, instead of the game which was billed as the biggest in Argentine football’s 127-year history. “They took away our dream of playing the final in our country,” Tevez said. The first leg ended 2-2. The second, we are still very much waiting for:
Kick-off: 7.45pm (GMT)
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