Edinson Cavani he scored a great goal from a free kick to give a vital victory to Boca Juniors in view of Sportivo Trinidense 2-1 at the La Nueva Olla stadium, in Asunción, for the fourth date of the Group D of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2024, in a difficult match for Xeneize due to the state of the playing field, because they lost 1-0 and because they could not find the circuits to harm the locals.
Was Nicolas Figal the one in charge, from above, of giving the Argentine team what it could not find below, after heading a perfect cross from Lautaro Blanco almost into the small area after a second play on a corner. And Cavani sealed the comeback near the end with a perfect free kickat the corner of the goal defended by Wilson Quiñónez.
Diego Martínez’s men had practically no chances, and seemed unfocused after protesting very effusively two plays that changed the course of the match: first a handball in the Paraguayan area that could have given them the chance to open the scoring and play more calmly in the first half, and then an alleged penalty by the Paraguayan goalkeeper on Langoni. The referee reviewed both, via VAR, and rejected them.
The first happened at the end of the first quarter of the game, when Lautaro Blanco entered the area from the left and tried to face inside to complete the offensive, but His marker Axel Cañete stretched out his hand from the ground to intercept the ball. The VAR called referee Cristian Garay to go see the action and decided not to consider the handball in the area as intentional, despite Boca’s protests.
The blow for the xeneizes, however, came at the end of the first halfwith a great ball that Fernando Romero combed to assist Brian Andrada, who escaped between the center backs and defined before the departure of Chiquito Romero for the 1-0.
Despite everything, the complement would bring good news from the beginning. For a foul on Pol Fernández, Andrada himself saw the second yellow card and left Trinidense with ten men.
And Boca, with few ideas, would end up reaching equality. Without showing off and with little play. But getting into the game and looking for a quick comeback, which could have come after a leaked ball from Merentiel to Langoni, which caused the goalkeeper to come out to cut with his foot and touch the ball. The Xeneize bench claimed a foul with the other leg, but the review was quick to deactivate the possibility of the penalty.
And the match, eventful for Diego Martínez’s men, would have a separate chapter for the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani. The forward had seemed confused and imprecise, but he had the personality to ask for a free kick in injury time on the home team’s goal. And the attacker hit him with such precision that the goalkeeper stretched, uselessly, while the ball slipped into the corner and generated relief for the team.
The result is worth more than three points because it serves to take advantage of Fortaleza’s setback in Potosí against Nacional (1-4), which gives them the chance to get closer and dream of first place in the group with two dates remaining.
