Boca held 1-1 by Cruzeiro, last 16 spot on final matchday | OneFootball

Xeneize took the lead through a goal by Miguel Merentiel, but La Raposa leveled it with a strike from Fagner. Merentiel had the winner ruled out in the second half, and the visitors finished with 10 men after Gerson was sent off.

The home side showed from the start that it had to win and created several early chances. First it was Miguel Merentiel, who got a fortunate bounce on a clearance and forced a save from Otavio, then got on the end of a Lautaro Blanco cross only to be denied again by the goalkeeper. Shortly after, Milton Giménez had a chance on the rebound from a Tomás Aranda shot, and the goal eventually came from a set piece.

Leandro Paredes took a free kick aimed at goal that drifted through the box and found Merentiel arriving at the back post to lift his foot and put Xeneize ahead. After that, possession was more evenly shared, and the visitors, although Matheus Pereira and Gerson handled the ball well, did not threaten apart from a solo run by Kaio Jorge that Leandro Brey dealt with.

Boca were not clinical against Cruzeiro

The second half began and Cruzeiro started to grow into the game. They pushed a few yards higher up the pitch and, after a sustained spell of possession, produced a fine team move to equalize. Kaiky got the better of Malcom Braida and sent in a cross that found Fagner for the 1-1. The Brazilian side looked better and came close to taking the lead, with Christian missing his chance, but then they were reduced to 10 men.

Gerson went into a challenge with Leandro Paredes and caught him in the knee with his studs. VAR called the referee over, and Jesús Valenzuela showed the former Roma man a red card. Ubeda’s team then took control again and created several more chances, including a Paredes free kick, an Aranda shot, and a header from substitute Exequiel Zeballos. Merentiel did score, but it was ruled out by technology for a previous handball by Milton Delgado.

As the minutes passed, Boca kept piling men into the box, even Ángel Romero, but could not find the breakthrough. The visitors defended as best they could with a man down and were satisfied with the point, knowing they still depend on themselves heading into the final round.

In the next matchday, Boca will host Universidad Católica, while Cruzeiro will also play at home against Barcelona.

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