Boca finished second: the new Copa Libertadores tiebreaker | OneFootball

Universidad Católica beat Barcelona of Ecuador away from home and, as a result, Group D of the Copa Libertadores now has three teams on six points: the Chileans, Boca — who are in second place — and Cruzeiro.

For this edition, Conmebol decided to change the tiebreak criteria when two or more teams are level on points, and that is why the Chilean side leads the group, even though Boca beat them.

Previously, the first tiebreaker was overall goal difference in the group, but now the head-to-head criterion is used: the first things taken into account are the matches between the tied teams, goal difference, and goals scored, but only among the teams involved.

Boca beat Universidad Católica 2-1, Daniel Garnero’s team won by the same score against Cruzeiro in Brazil, and the Belo Horizonte side defeated Boca 1-0. As a result, in the matches among the three teams, all of them have three points and a +1 goal difference.

The third criterion is goals scored in the matches among the three teams, and that is where the Chileans have the edge: they have three, while Boca and Cruzeiro scored only two.

The tiebreak between Boca and Cruzeiro goes to the fourth criterion, which is overall goal difference in the group, and that favors Boca because of their big win over Barcelona at La Bombonera. That is why Claudio Ubeda’s side are in second place.

If Católica had not won on their visit to Barcelona, Boca would still have been runners-up and Cruzeiro would be top, because they had the advantage of having won the head-to-head matchup.

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