Boca wins Supercopa Argentina, defeating Rosario Central on penalties
Boca Juniors clinched the Supercopa Argentina title for the first time on Thursday night, defeating Rosario Central on penalties in an intense final played at the Malvinas Argentinas stadium in Mendoza.
Boca, the champions of the 2017/2018 Superliga who lost their title to Racing Club this year, won 6-5 in a penalty shootout after an exacting 0-0 draw in 90 minutes against Central, who qualified for the final as the winner of last season’s Copa Argentina.
Boca dominated the match, hitting the
post on no less than four occasions. Colombian Sebastián Villa was the star performer for the Xeneize, as a constant menace down the right-hand side.
Darío Benedetto, Carlos Tevez, Cristian Pavón, Sebastián Villa, Julio Buffarini and Carlos Izquierdoz converted the six successful penalties for Boca, with Rosario Central’s players Néstor Ortigoza, Leonardo Gil, Alfonso Parot, Fernando Zampedri and Matías Caruzzo all scoring too. Finally, Xeneize goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was the hero of the shoot-out, batting away Fabián Rinaudo’s effort.
It’s Boca’s 68th trophy overall and first Supercopa Argentina title, having lost finals in 2012 (against Arsenal de Sarandí), 2015 (against San Lorenzo, 4-0) and 2018, when the blue and yellows suffered a painful 2-0 defeat to arch-rivals River.
The victory is also Boca’s first title under the leadership of Gustavo Alfaro, who replaced Guillermo Barros Schelotto as coach in January after the Xeneize lost the long-delayed controversial Copa Libertadores final against River Plate in Madrid.