Boca and Tigre are already vying for the League Cup title today (ESPN Premium and TNT Sports) at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium, in Córdoba. Sebastián Battaglia’s team arrives with all their football doubts, including their uncertain future in the Copa Libertadores, but a solid defensive gait that allowed them to leave Racing on penalties in the semifinals. On the other hand, those led by Diego Martínez, want to achieve the seemingly impossible after being promoted to the top flight at the end of last year. In the semifinal they eliminated Argentinos, also on penalties.
At the start, better Tiger
There seem to be more white jerseys than blue and yellow. Visual deception is not so much. Tigre’s midfielders move more than Boca’s, both when they have the ball and when they don’t. Consequently, Diego Martínez’s team has more passing options while Battaglia’s, once in possession, are very marked. An example of this was a first intervention by Romero, surrounded by four rivals and losing in his own field.
Of course to the good collective functioning of the Matador, the Xeneize responds with individualities. Salvio was able to get a couple of marks off him at sheer speed and made it to the area before dropping. Later, Villa starred in the clearest move of the opening minutes with a free kick that forced a very good reaction from Marinelli.
Benedetto’s goal that wasn’t
Boca settled down with the passing of the minutes and even managed to build nice plays after extensive touching. One of them ended with a great definition by Benedetto, but the line judge annulled it for an advanced position. The VAR confirmed the referee’s decision, although stopping the game for several minutes.
