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- Boca Turns It Around in Three Minutes and Takes the Advantage Against Recoleta in Copa Sudamericana
Boca Turns It Around in Three Minutes and Takes the Advantage Against Recoleta in Copa Sudamericana
Boca Juniors responded after falling behind early and defeated Deportivo Recoleta 3-1 in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana Round of 16.
📺 The Great Conquest in the Sudamericana, LIVE on beIN SPORTS
Boca Juniors recovered from a difficult start and secured an important 3-1 victory over Deportivo Recoleta on Tuesday in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana Round of 16 at the Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó in Buenos Aires.
Goals from Santiago Ascacíbar, Milton Delgado, and Leonel Flores allowed the Xeneize to turn around a match that had started badly following Pedro Ríos' opener for the Paraguayan side.
Recoleta Surprises Boca Early
Deportivo Recoleta, coached by Jorge González, needed just five minutes to stun the Argentine side. A well-worked attacking move ended with a shot from Pedro Ríos that took a deflection before beating Colombian goalkeeper Álvaro Montero to make it 1-0.
After taking the lead, the Paraguayan side dropped deeper and looked to create opportunities on the counterattack. Boca Juniors, forced to respond, began creating chances and came close to equalizing when efforts from Miguel Ángel Merentiel and Milton Delgado struck the woodwork.
The complexion of the match changed just before halftime when Wilfrido Báez was shown a straight red card in stoppage time, leaving Recoleta with 10 players for the entire second half.
Boca Needs Just Three Minutes to Turn It Around
The Xeneize immediately took advantage of the extra man. In the 49th minute, Santiago Ascacíbar connected with a header to make it 1-1 and spark the comeback.
Just two minutes later, Milton Delgado won another aerial battle and scored to put Boca ahead 2-1. The decisive blow arrived in the 62nd minute, when youngster Leonel Flores produced a spectacular strike to extend the advantage and make it 3-1.
Things became even more difficult for Deportivo Recoleta when Dairon Mosquera was sent off in the 69th minute, reducing the Paraguayan side to nine players.
Boca Juniors continued to create numerous opportunities and hit the woodwork four times during the match, but could not extend its advantage before the final whistle.
The tie will be decided next Tuesday in Asunción, where Deportivo Recoleta will attempt to overturn the deficit against a Boca Juniors side carrying a two-goal advantage into the second leg. The winner will face the winner of the tie between São Paulo and Bolívar in the next round.
