📝Boca Juniors 1-0 Patronato: Late goal lifts Xeneize over challengers | OneFootball

A late goal from Cristian Espinoza pushed Boca Juniors over Club Atlético Patronato in between the two legs of their Copa Libertadores final.

Boca Juniors were held by rivals River Plate in the first match of the series at La Bombonera on 11 November and will take this win over Patronato in the Superliga to build up the team’s momentum.

Patronato had hoped to catch the powerhouse club distracted by their upcoming final second leg against River on 24 November but Boca prevailed.

The Xeneize were held even by their visitors until the 82nd minute when 23-year-old forward Cristian Espinoza broke the dead-lock on Mauro Zárate’s cross.

After going ahead, the home team were called into question by Matías Garrido. Goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was up to the challenge in second-half stoppage time and preserved his clean sheet.

The win moves Boca Juniors up to sixth place in the Argentina Superliga but their tally of 21 points is just two behind second-place Huracán. The result should carry some positivity into Boca’s return leg against River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final.

Despite 81 minutes of solid defending, Patronato walked out of La Bombonera empty-handed. The club from Paraná has earned just nine points in 13 matches so far this season and is in danger of relegation.