Fernando Romero Nuñez It was a vintage showing at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium on Wednesday night as Boca Juniors fell 4-3 to Vélez Sarsfield in the Copa Argentina semifinals. The team coached by Fernando Gago fought to revert a 2-0 deficit with ten men, but ultimately fell and will now need a bit of luck to keep its Copa Libertadores qualification aspirations alive.
Boca had the upper hand early on. The Xeneize looked to have turned the corner under Gago — it won three of its last four after a difficult start to the former captain’s coaching stint — and was taking the game to Vélez.
But in the sixth minute a quick El Fortín counter allowed forward Francisco Pizzini to make it 1-0 from a deflection by Xeneize goalkeeper Leandro Brey. The goal gave Vélez wings and, 13 minutes later, Boca defender Nicolás Figal blundered a rejection from a cross by forward Matías Pellegrini, sending the ball into his own net for 2-0.
After that, El Fortín seemed to relax and allowed Boca more time and space on the ball. It paid the price when the first half was drawing to a close. Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani slipped past his marker in the 43rd minute and scored a picture-perfect header to make it 2-1 and get Boca fans dreaming of a come-back.
It nearly turned into a nightmare. Just two minutes later, Boca defender Luis Advíncula grabbed and pushed Pellegrini when he was clear on goal, and was lucky enough to only see the yellow card. Three minutes into the second half he finished the job, as a harsh tackle on Pellegrini saw him sent off with a second yellow.
Ten-man Boca was the best team on the pitch, and kept pushing Vélez, who lost focus. In the 70th minute, forward Exequiel Zeballos received the ball from just outside the area, then turned on a dime to lose his marker and slotted a low shot to goalkeeper Tomás Marchiori, tying the game.
Nine minutes later the comeback was complete. Zeballos recovered the ball from a corner and passed to defender Juan Barinaga, who then assisted midfielder Tomás Belmonte for the 3-2.
Spurred by the need to tie the game and send the series to a penalty shoot out, Vélez finally made its number advantage count.
In the 84th minute, a lobbed ball by defender Elías Gómez found striker Michael Santos, who set it up for former Boca youngster Agustín Bouzat to score the 3-3. Four minutes later, Bouzat hit again, this time from a long-range cross by defender Joaquín García.
Despite a few tense moments in the closing minutes, Vélez ended up winning 4-3 and will now play the Copa America final.
“It was a thrilling game,” Fortin head coach Gustavo Quinteros said after the game. “I want to compliment our rival, they turned the game around down one player and that’s very laudable.”
He went on to congratulate his players for their performance after back-to-back trips to Mendoza and Córdoba.
“The way this team played the first half makes me proud,” he added.
Gago, on the other hand, was forced to defend his decision bringing on defenders after the third goal amid heavy criticism. “Missing a player and up on the score, with eight minutes to go we’re looking to wrap up the game, how can I leave three strikers up top? The team needed those substitutions,” he said.
He added he knew it was a “hard blow” and that he told his players they have a chance to make it right on the next game.
Boca, however, needs a bit more than good results to secure a 2025 Copa Libertadores ticket. The Xeneize can only qualify via the annual table, where it sits fifth on 60 points, three points from fourth-placed River.
Assuming Gago’s team can hold on to that spot and none of the teams above drops out, Boca needs Vélez — currently in the Copa Argentina final and leading the Liga Profesional — to win one or both tournaments, which would free their annual table spot.
If Vélez loses both titles, Boca needs Racing or Talleres to win the league title, or to overtake River as the fourth-placed team.