• Pratto 68 Quintero 109 Martínez 120 | Benedetto 44
It may be marked with an asterisk and there could be more chapters to come in this most extraordinary of stories, soaked in symbolism, sport and society, drama and emotion too, raw and exhilarating to the last, but River Plate are the Copa Libertadores winners – clinching a title they and Boca Juniors, their great rivals from across Buenos Aires, always knew would be forever.
The game that would never end, reached the very, very end. “It’s been almost 60 days since this started and there is tremendous sadness,” said the Boca manager Guillermo Schelotto. With 120 minutes gone and River 2-1 up, he watched as Leonardo Jara hit the post, the tension clawing at nerves like never before. That left Boca with one last chance: a corner the referee seemed determined to delay, as if clinging to this game, not wanting to let it go, and their goalkeeper Esteban Andrada in attack where he had been for seven or eight minutes already. It also left them exposed.
Written by Sid Lowe at the Bernabéu
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/dec/09/copa-libertadores-final-river-plate-boca-juniors-match-report under the title “River Plate claim Copa Libertadores against 10-man Boca with Quintero goal”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
