Fernando Gago has been working for days on important changes to face the decisive game in the Copa Libertadores against Alianza Lima, where they are forced to make a comeback at La Bombonera if they want to advance to the next stage after the loss they suffered in Peru (1-0) last week. The fear in Buenos Aires is palpable. Therefore, the fans of Boca Juniors need to know this fact to have hope for the comeback.

Boca Juniors needs to break their bad streak in the Copa Libertadores

The most recent precedents of Boca Juniors in the Copa Libertadores are not the best. Their last match before facing this ‘playoffs’ phase against Alianza Lima was the lost final against Fluminense (1-2) in November 2023. What’s surprising is that Boca Juniors reached that final without winning any games in the knockout rounds.

They didn’t lose any either. This means they passed all rounds through penalty shootouts: Nacional (round of 16), Racing Club (quarterfinals), and Palmeiras (semifinals). In other words, Boca Juniors has gone eight consecutive matches without a win. Their last victory was in the sixth round of that edition of the Copa Libertadores against Monagas SC (4-0).

The impressive stat of Boca Juniors when they score the first goal

Against Alianza Lima, they added one more loss and are now forced to turn the tie around to move to the next stage. To do so, they need La Bombonera to cheer louder than ever to achieve their goal, and it will be crucial for Boca Juniors to score the first goal to level the series.

If they do, Boca Juniors knows they have most of the work done because, when they go 1-0 up at La Bombonera, historical records show they win 95% of the games. Additionally, to complete this stat, when Alianza Lima starts losing, they can only turn the result around 11% of the time.