Ascacibar, Delgado and Flores stunners put Boca 3-1 up on Recoleta | OneFootball

Boca host Paraguay’s Recoleta at Tomás Adolfo Ducó for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16.

Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s team is coming off a draw against Vélez last Saturday and reached this stage after beating Chile’s O’Higgins on penalties.

For their part, the Paraguayan side was one of the biggest surprises of the group stage, finishing first in its group ahead of Santos, San Lorenzo, and Deportivo Cuenca. They are also unbeaten in the tournament.

Chilean referee Piero Maza is in charge of the match, while his compatriot Juan Lara is leading VAR duties.

In a first half with everything, the Paraguayan team stunned the Xeneize and took a 1-0 lead after five minutes through a shot by Ríos that took a deflection off Lozano and wrong-footed Montero.

Arruabarrena’s team went all out in search of the equalizer, created countless chances, but once again suffered from a lack of finishing.

Merentiel missed the target on a couple of occasions, Ascacíbar had his chances too, and the post and the crossbar - twice - denied Boca in the same play.

In the 46th minute, Báez was sent off for Recoleta after a VAR review for a clear elbow on Flores when the ball was no longer in play.

At halftime, Arruabarrena sent on Villa, who came on in place of Blanco.

At the start of the second half, Aranda played a long ball for the Colombian, Villa laid it back and Ascacíbar once again arrived in the box to hit it on the volley and make it 1-1.

Just two minutes later, Villa again, after a rebound, delivered a precise cross into the box for Delgado to beat everyone in the air, score Boca’s 2-1, and net his first goal for the club’s senior team.

In the 61st minute, Paredes picked out Merentiel with a forward pass, the Uruguayan backheeled it into the path of Flores, and the youngster unleashed a first-time rocket, giving goalkeeper Ferreira no chance. Boca led 3-1 at the Ducó.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.