Plenty of chances, few goals: Boca's big problem in the last two games | OneFootball

If there is one thing Boca cannot be blamed for over the last two matches, it is creating scoring chances. Both in the Torneo Apertura elimination against Huracán and in the 1-1 draw with Cruzeiro in the Copa Libertadores, the Xeneize created a huge number of opportunities that, whether because of the goalkeepers’ performances — standouts in both games — or poor finishing, did not end up in the back of the net and proved very costly for the team. This is an area Claudio Úbeda and his coaching staff must correct ahead of next Thursday’s clash with Universidad Católica, as the team from La Ribera is obliged to take all three points to secure its place in the round of 16.

A mistake shared by Leandro Brey and Milton Delgado left Boca behind against Huracán just six minutes into the match. Beyond the blow caused by Leonardo Gil’s goal, the Xeneize responded quickly and began threatening the goal defended by Hernán Galíndez.

With five great saves, the Argentine goalkeeper who became a naturalized Ecuadorian kept a clean sheet through the first 45 minutes. In the second half, when desperation started to take over, Boca kept getting dangerously into the opposition box and, after Tomás Aranda hit the post and more clear-cut chances followed, Milton Giménez scored the equalizer seconds before the 90-minute mark. The striker was hit in the back by a clearance from Galíndez, and Boca ended up doing, by pure chance, what it had not been able to do before.

In the first half of extra time, Huracán landed the knockout blows that ended up eliminating the Xeneize: Lautaro Di Lollo gave away two penalties that Oscar Romero converted, and the visitors went 3-1 up. Even with two extra men, the Xeneize kept creating chances but could only pull one back through Ángel Romero. In total, that night they created 17 clear scoring opportunities.

Against Cruzeiro, the flow of the match was different, but the outcome was similar. Boca came out overpowering its opponent and in the opening 20 minutes created five clear scoring chances, turned Otavio into the star of the game, and Miguel Merentiel found the back of the net in the 15th minute.

Toward the end of the first half and the start of the second, their attacking output dropped, the visitors began to settle into the game, and they equalized through a rocket from Fagner. Úbeda’s side struggled to recover from the shock, but when they did — now with a man advantage after Gerson’s sending-off — they once again created several chances to win it.

Boca finished the match against the Brazilian side having created 12 chances and with the bitter taste of having drawn a game it deserved to win, while also making its chances of qualifying for the round of 16 more complicated.

Although Merentiel and Giménez are the main players singled out in this area, since they accounted for a large share of the chances, the list is quite broad. The center-backs, Leandro Paredes, Santiago Ascacíbar against Huracán and Tomás Belmonte against Cruzeiro, Tomás Aranda, and Exequiel Zeballos also wasted their opportunities. The truth is that Boca threatened the opposition box 29 times over the last two matches and only managed to score three goals. To make matters worse, of the six times the opposition got forward against them, four ended in goals.

This is the main area to improve ahead of next Thursday’s clash with Universidad Católica, a match in which the Xeneize benefits from the new Olympic tiebreak criterion and knows that a win will guarantee qualification for the round of 16, one of its main objectives for the first half of the year.

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