Cruzeiro's win over Boca Juniors ends in chaos at Mineirão 📹 | OneFootball

After the final whistle sealed Cruzeiro’s 1-0 victory over Boca Juniors on Tuesday night (28), the Mineirão pitch became the stage for a major altercation involving players from both teams.

The tension, which had already been building throughout the 90 minutes, exploded as soon as the match ended.

Players and members of the Argentine team’s coaching staff left the bench and charged at the Cruzeiro players, sparking a heated shoving match.

The origin of the altercation

The trigger for the chaos came when Argentine player Leandro Paredes confronted midfielder Matheus Pereira right after the final whistle.

Tensions between the two had already been high from the opening minutes, when Paredes was shown a yellow card (before the 10-minute mark) for squaring up to Raposa’s No. 10.

That final confrontation led to a crowd gathering and inflamed tempers on both sides.

Despite the tense scenes and the widespread shouting, Cruzeiro’s players tried to calm things down and, fortunately, the episode did not escalate into physical violence. Little by little, tempers cooled and the players headed down to the locker rooms.

Gamesmanship and a heroic win

With the ball rolling, the clash, valid for the third round of the group stage, was marked by great intensity, hard fouls, and traditional Argentine gamesmanship.

The refereeing crew had its hands full: nine yellow cards were handed out, and a Boca Juniors player was sent off in the first half.

With emotional intelligence, Artur Jorge’s team did not fall for the provocations and managed to finish the match without having any player sent off.

The team’s patience was rewarded late on. In the final minutes, Neyser Villarreal scored the goal that secured the 1-0 win and sent the Cruzeiro fans at Mineirão into celebration.

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

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