Boca found again on penalties what it couldn’t even look for in the game. With the effectiveness of their kickers and with Agustín Rossi once again important in the definition, Sebastián Battaglia’s team beat Racing 5-4 on penalties, which deserved another fate in the 90 minutes and was 0-0 in regular time it was very short. With very little the xeneize team was enough to qualify for the final of the Professional League Cup, where they await Argentinos or Tigre.
Racing’s superiority in the first half was overwhelming, except on the scoreboard. The first big difference was in the intensity: Copetti’s desire versus Varela’s indifference were a painting of an image that could be transferred to different places on the field. Every time a Boca footballer had the ball, he raised his head and only saw Racing players pressing. Thus, on rare occasions, Battaglia’s team was able to progress in attack and therefore could not even kick once on goal in 45 minutes.
But it wasn’t just a matter of attitude. Tactically, Gago won the battle, which resulted in a clear racinguista domain. For this, the presence of Rojas and Chancalay at the ends was a great success, because they played behind the backs of the rival midfielders and the wings did not control them either. That advantage was transferred to the middle, where Alcaraz and Mirando found spaces to filter passes or bite into the void. All endured by an unstoppable Copetti, who put pressure on Rojo, Zambrano and Rossi.
The only aspect in which Racing failed was in the last stitch, since its marked dominance was not reflected in as many arrivals as it would have deserved, beyond the fact that it caused Rossi many hot flashes. Chancalay even had a one-on-one that he resolved poorly and Correa, in the first one he touched, headed outside after a failed start by Rossi.
Something changed in the second half, although the trend was similar. With fewer legs, the pressure from Racing was no longer so intense, which allowed Boca to slow down and handle the ball a little more. In this way, he was able to keep the development further away from his goalkeeper and not have as many shocks as in the first half. However, he was not enough to even get close to Chila Gómez, a mere spectator during the 90 minutes.
Only at the end and with the entry of Salvio, Boca seemed to seek victory in regular time, but it was just a hint. At that point, they were both thinking about penalties.
The definition also had suspense. The first eight penalties were inside, with a great hierarchy of kickers. Then Rossi appeared, who took the shot from Copetti and seemed to tip the scales. But Salvio could not with Gómez and the series was prolonged. However, Insúa bit his left foot and everything was served for Varela, who vindicated himself for a weak match and scored the decisive penalty so that the whole celebration is xeneize.