Boca edge River with Paredes penalty in Superclásico at Monumental

Boca Juniors defeated River Plate 1–0 in Argentina’s Superclásico on Sunday, played in front of around 85,000 spectators at the Monumental stadium on matchday 15 of the Apertura tournament.

The decisive moment came deep into first-half stoppage time, when Leandro Paredes calmly converted a penalty in first-half injurey time minute to settle a tight and hard-fought contest.

The spot-kick was awarded after a VAR review for handball by Lautaro Rivero, following a dangerous delivery aimed at Miguel Merentiel.

Captaining Boca, Paredes delivered a commanding performance at the heart of midfield and was widely viewed as the standout player on the pitch.

“We’re proud of this team, which is becoming a group of men and is starting to play good football,” he said afterwards. “We knew what kind of match it would be – there would be little rhythm. It was important to win today. This is a process and we’re improving step by step.”

The match unfolded with high intensity but limited fluency, marked by tight marking and few clear openings in the first half. River dominated possession and pressed high up the pitch, but struggled to translate that control into meaningful chances. Boca, by contrast, looked more dangerous on the break, targeting Adam Bareiro with long balls and exploiting the delivery of Lautaro Blanco down the left.

River’s best chance before the interval came when Maximiliano Salas fired narrowly wide on 44 minutes, but Boca responded almost immediately, with Paredes releasing Merentiel, whose effort brushed the post. Moments later came the निर्णing penalty that shifted the balance of the game.

After the break, River pushed forward in search of an equaliser, urged on by a restless home crowd, but their attacks often lacked precision. Boca remained compact and disciplined at the back, with Lautaro Di Lollo outstanding in defence, while goalkeeper Leandro Brey produced a key intervention to deny Lucas Martínez Quarta.

“The group made a huge effort in the final minutes. We played the way a clásico should be played and saw it through,” Di Lollo said. “We knew they would come at us late on, but we defended well.”

Boca ultimately held firm to secure a vital victory away from home, extending their unbeaten run to 13 matches since February and confirming their place in the round of 16.

With the result, the Xeneize climb to third place in Zone A and take an important step towards sealing qualification for the knockout stage. River, meanwhile, remain second in Zone B and are still on course to progress, despite suffering their first defeat in nine matches under coach Eduardo Coudet.

“Losing the match we didn’t want to lose hurts. The responsibility is mine,” Coudet said. “A defeat like this has to hurt.”

In the overall head-to-head record, Boca extended their lead over their fierce rivals, now boasting 94 wins to River’s 88, with 84 matches drawn.

The match was officiated by Darío Herrera.

Line-ups:

River Plate: Santiago Beltrán; Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Lautaro Rivero (Ian Subiabre, 88′), Marcos Acuña; Aníbal Moreno; Juan Cruz Meza (Giuliano Galoppo, 46′), Kendry Páez (Joaquín Freitas, 56′), Tomás Galván; Sebastián Driussi (Maximiliano Salas, 17′) and Facundo Colidio. Manager: Eduardo Coudet.

Boca Juniors: Leandro Brey; Marcelo Weigandt, Lautaro Di Lollo, Ayrton Costa, Marcos Acuña; Santiago Ascacibar, Leandro Paredes (Ander Herrera, 72′), Milton Delgado; Tomás Aranda (Tomás Belmonte, 72′); Miguel Merentiel (Exequiel Zeballos, 68′) and Adam Bareiro (Milton Giménez, 82′). Manager: Claudio Úbeda.