- The ‘Xeneize’ suffered a narrow defeat in Chile but secured qualification through a penalty shootout.
- As in the first leg, O’Higgins once again produced a strong performance despite being eliminated.
Boca were made to suffer until the very end, but ultimately secured their place in the Round of 16 of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana. The ‘Xeneize’, who had won the first leg 1-0, lost by the same scoreline against O’Higgins in Chile and, with the tie level on aggregate, prevailed 4-3 in the penalty shootout. Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s side, two-time champions of the competition, will face Recoleta in the next round.
The Argentine side started with intent following the inclusion of Santiago Ascacibar and looked to make use of the pace of Sebastián Villa and Miguel Merentiel, but they were unable to turn that early momentum into clear chances in front of goal. Tomás Aranda, now wearing Boca’s iconic No. 10 shirt, was one of the most dangerous players on the pitch and among the standout performers of the night, despite missing his penalty in the shootout.
Lucas Bovaglio’s team grew into the match as the minutes passed and once again showed the same brave approach they had displayed in the first leg at ‘La Bombonera’. ‘El Capo de Provincia’, led by Arnaldo Castillo and Francisco González, pushed higher up the pitch and began operating increasingly close to Álvaro Montero’s penalty area. Boca tried to dictate the tempo through Leandro Paredes, but struggled to find space in the final third during a first half that ended goalless.
The second half unfolded at a much higher intensity. Boca created a good opportunity through Santiago Ascacibar, but O’Higgins soon regained the initiative and began causing problems with crosses and set pieces. Miguel Brizuela came close with a header that sailed just over the crossbar, a warning of what was to come shortly afterwards.
The hosts, relentless in their pursuit, found the aggregate equalizer in the 72nd minute. Luis Pavez launched a long throw into the box and Nicolás Figal’s attempted clearance fell invitingly to Francisco González, who struck first time and beat Montero with a left-footed volley to make it 1-0 on the night and level the tie.
The match opened up after that breakthrough. Thiago Vecino, who had come off the bench, had the chance to put O’Higgins ahead on aggregate with a header that was comfortably gathered by Boca’s goalkeeper. At the other end, Omar Carabalí emerged as one of the standout performers of the night, producing two excellent saves to deny Aranda in the closing stages. The introduction of Leonel Flores, the only substitution made by Rodolfo Arruabarrena during the 90 minutes, gave Boca a different attacking edge: he injected energy into the ‘Xeneize’ and came agonizingly close to equalizing, only to be denied by the crossbar.
With the score level after 90 minutes, qualification was decided from the penalty spot. Paredes, Miguel Merentiel and Nicolás Figal converted for Boca, while Carabalí saved Aranda’s attempt. González, Castillo and Brizuela scored for O’Higgins, but Vecino fired wide and Montero denied Pavez. Lautaro Blanco then stepped up to take the decisive penalty and converted to seal a 4-3 shootout victory, sending the ‘Xeneize’ into the last 16 of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
The match in numbers
- O’Higgins went unbeaten in all six of their home matches in CONMEBOL competitions in 2026 (5W 1D). The Chilean side also did not concede a single goal during that run.
- O’Higgins ended Boca’s streak of three consecutive away victories in Chile in CONMEBOL competitions.
- Omar Carabalí’s first save of the match came in the 89th minute from a Tomás Aranda effort. The O’Higgins goalkeeper has made 12 saves at home in CONMEBOL competitions in 2026, keeping a clean sheet in every match and posting a positive figure of 2.3 goals prevented.
- With his goal against Boca, O’Higgins’ Francisco González has now registered 10 goals and eight assists in 2026 across the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, Libertadores and Chilean Primera División. He is his team’s leading scorer and assist provider this season.
- From the moment O’Higgins scored, Boca had 63% possession, registered their only two shots on target of the match and outshot their opponents 8-2 overall.
- Tomás Aranda was directly involved in seven of Boca’s 15 shots in the match: he attempted five himself — including both of their efforts on target — and provided two passes leading to shots for teammates.
- Boca made just one substitution against O’Higgins, something they had not done in a CONMEBOL competition match since July 2022 against Corinthians in the Libertadores.
