After the dramatic elimination in the Preliminary Round of the Copa Libertadores against Alianza Lima at La Bombonera, it seemed that peace had returned to Boca Juniors, who went into the FIFA Date boasting six consecutive victories in the Apertura of Argentina. However, last night, the ghosts returned after the defeat to Newell’s in Rosario.

Everything went wrong for Boca Juniors

The defeat, of course, was traumatic for Boca Juniors due to how the events unfolded throughout the match. As soon as the ball was in play, Luciano Herrera scored the first goal after a dominant start from Newell’s. Boca struggled to get into the game. But when the equalizer seemed close, Luciano Lollo doubled the lead in stoppage time of the first half.

Naturally, Gago didn’t wait to react and made a triple substitution at halftime… among them was Ander Herrera. From then on, it became a nightmare for Boca Juniors, which could be summed up in a minute. First, Ander Herrera left the field injured in tears 10 minutes after coming on… while Edison Cavani was fouled in the box. Cavani himself took the penalty. But he couldn’t beat Keylor Navas, who dived like a panther for the ball.

Boca Juniors surrenders the lead

Boca Juniors kept trying by all means. But the emotional blow was so strong that they were never able to recover. “We weren’t that good before, and we’re not that bad now. We played poorly and didn’t win the duels or have the game. The team wasn’t sharp, there’s no need to overthink it. I’m not worried, we just played badly,” said Fernando Gago in a press conference after the loss.

Without a doubt, Boca has missed a unique opportunity to grab the Argentina League lead alone. This defeat to Newell’s, however, leaves the ‘xeneixe’ team in third place in the annual table with 23 points, behind Independiente (24) and Tigre (24), who didn’t falter in their respective matches against Godoy and Defensa y Justicia. In the next round, Boca Juniors returns to La Bombonera to face Barracas.