- The ‘Xeneize’ secured a narrow victory over São Paulo thanks to Miguel Merentiel’s goal and will defend their advantage in Brazil.
- The Brazilian side suffered their first defeat of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana and will look to overturn the tie at the MorumBIS on 15 September.
The contest lived up to the stature of the two continental giants involved in this Quarter-final tie. ‘La Bombonera’ provided the stage for an intense battle as Boca Juniors defeated São Paulo 1-0 in Buenos Aires and will travel to Brazil with a slender advantage in pursuit of a place in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana Semi-finals.
Miguel Merentiel scored the only goal of the match seven minutes into the second half and once again played a decisive role in the international campaign of Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s side. The Uruguayan took his tally to three goals in the competition and extended the ‘Xeneize’s’ unbeaten run to five matches, with four wins and one draw since entering the Round of 16 Playoffs.
São Paulo made the brighter start away from home and found spaces to trouble the home defence. Jonathan Calleri, returning to the stadium where he played between 2014 and 2016, had a headed opportunity that forced Álvaro Montero into action. Artur also tested the Colombian goalkeeper during the Brazilian side’s strong opening spell.
Boca began to take control from the 15-minute mark of the first half. Leandro Paredes started to dictate play from midfield, Alan Velasco became increasingly involved and Lautaro Blanco provided width and penetration down the left. Leonel Flores’ interventions also began to tip the balance in favour of the blue-and-gold side. The Argentine team ended the first half putting Rafael’s goal under increasing pressure.
The home side stepped up the pressure after the break. Rafael denied Lautaro Di Lollo with a header, but the opening goal arrived shortly afterwards. The move began with Paredes, who sped up the play without touching the ball by letting it run through his legs, before Ascacíbar played it wide and Velasco slipped a pass into the path of the overlapping Blanco. His cross found Merentiel inside the area. São Paulo’s goalkeeper somehow blocked the first effort with his head, but the striker reacted quickly to the rebound and made it 1-0.
São Paulo pushed for an equaliser and again forced Álvaro Montero, who produced a strong display, into saves from Domingos Duarte and Calleri. The Argentine striker was shown a yellow card in the second half and, after reaching the suspension threshold, will miss the return leg, a significant absence for a ‘Tricolor’ side that lacked the cutting edge in attack to hurt the ‘Xeneize’.
Boca managed their advantage, kept the visitors’ attempts under control and came close to extending the lead through Velasco, who capped a strong performance with a shot that flashed just wide of the post. Arruabarrena freshened up the attack with the introductions of Sebastián Villa and Enner Valencia, while his side held on to the result until the final whistle. The 1-0 scoreline leaves the tie finely poised ahead of the return leg on Tuesday 15 September at the MorumBIS. Boca will advance with either a win or a draw, while São Paulo must win by one goal to force a penalty shootout or by a larger margin to qualify in regulation time.
The match in numbers
- Miguel Merentiel has been directly involved in four of Boca’s nine goals in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (3 goals and 1 assist). The ‘Xeneize’ have won all four matches in which Merentiel has scored or provided an assist.
- Boca have lost just one of their seven home matches against Brazilian opposition in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (5W, 1D). They have also kept clean sheets in the last two of those games (2W).
- This was Boca’s fourth consecutive home victory over São Paulo. Overall, the ‘Xeneize’ have won six of the seven matches they have played at home against the Brazilian side (1L). Their only defeat came in the 1995 CONMEBOL Supercopa (2-3).
- Boca extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to 11 matches (CONMEBOL Sudamericana, LPF Clausura and Copa Argentina), with five wins and six draws.
- Boca made only two substitutions against São Paulo. The ‘Xeneize’ have made 16 changes across five matches in the current CONMEBOL Sudamericana, 64% of the 25 available.
- Boca have won all three of their home matches in the current CONMEBOL Sudamericana, recording more possession and more total shots than their opponents in each game.
