River edge out Boca to win Copa Libertadores

MADRID: River Plate won the Copa Libertadores, beating fierce rivals Boca Juniors 3-1 after extra time on Sunday, bringing an end to a final tainted by violence and moved more than six thousand miles away from Argentina.

Boca took the lead through Dario Benedetto but Lucas Pratto equalised before Juan Quintero and Gonzalo Martinez scored in extra time, aided by Wilmar Barrios being sent off, to win a dramatic contest for River. River prevailed 5-3 on aggregate after the first leg finished 2-2 and reclaim the trophy they last won in 2015, lifting it for the 4th time.

“We have shown we are superior,” River’s Leonardo Ponzio said. “After trying to stay quiet about everything that happened, we showed on the pitch we were better.” “The only thing I feel is sadness for not winning the cup and giving it to the people of Boca,” Boca coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto said. Postponed on three occasions and relocated from Buenos Aires to Madrid, the supporters of these clubs showed in the Santiago Bernabeu why this fixture had been billed as one of football’s greatest ever.