Boca stumble against Central Córdoba, Copa hopes dented | OneFootball

At La Bombonera and corresponding to the ninth date of Group A of the Clausura Tournament 2025, Boca drew 2-2 against Central Córdoba, complicating their position in the classification for the next year's Copa Libertadores.

The Xeneize played an impeccable first half but with few clear chances. They controlled the ball with Leandro Paredes as the orchestra conductor and generated endless situations that never really threatened Alan Aguerre's goal.

Only in a set piece and after a distraction from the Ferroviario's defense, Rodrigo Battaglia found the space to open the scoring. Until then, it was logical to think that the team was going to provide a goal-scoring night for their fans, but no one expected the lack of reaction from Miguel Ángel Russo's squad.

After the halftime and without changes, it was a performance worthy of a tribute to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. After a first half as the protagonist, in the second half, it was the Boca that so irritated its audience. They did not take advantage of the ball, gave up all control of the match and left Paredes alone, perhaps the only one who tried a forward pass.

They found the 2-0 at a strange moment, when it seemed closer to a draw. Miguel Merentiel took advantage of a rebound from a cross by Lautaro Blanco that Milton Giménez could not take advantage of and scored the second of the night. But minutes later, an absurd reaction from the defense and the lack of intention from Agustín Marchesín to cover the goal resulted in Central Córdoba's discount.

From there, the visitors proposed and took over the protagonism of the match. For Russo, this was solved with a single change, that of Alan Velasco instead of the only offensive player who did not do so much to leave as was Brian Aguirre. The coach was wrong or perhaps the performance of the substitutes is so low that they cannot be above questionable performances like those of the two forwards and a conductor without a record or handling capabilities like Carlos Palacios.

Boca let two key points slip away. Central Córdoba, with little, drew it and complicated their place in the classification. Photo: Gerónimo Marino.

That's why, Boca basically drew it alone. They had neither ideas from the bench nor on the field. Ivan Gómez took a shot that the Xeneize's goalkeeper never reached and tied in favor of a Central Córdoba that could even have won. Thus, the classification for next year's Copa Libertadores was complicated.

Boca drew against Central Córdoba and this is how the classification for next year's Libertadores ended up

In this scenario, the Xeneize is on the same line as Rosario Central and two points behind River, the leader. With the victory, they would have equaled the Millonario, which they face in a few dates at La Bombonera. They let two key points slip away and were left with only a three-point advantage over Argentinos Juniors and four over Deportivo Riestra. They are still far from Barracas Central, who is six points away.

It should be noted that the Xeneize only has two chances to enter the Copa Libertadores next year. They win the Clausura Tournament 2025 or enter by positions in the annual table. In their favor, they can play that River wins the Copa Argentina 2025 and frees up a spot, or that the lifelong rival is crowned champion of the current edition of the most important tournament on the continent.

Read also:

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