Boca Juniors defeated River Plate 2-0 at La Bombonera in matchday 15 of the Torneo Clausura, with goals from Exequiel Zeballos and Miguel Merentiel. This win secured Boca's spot in the group stage of the 2026 Copa Libertadores and positioned them as leaders of their zone. River deepened its crisis and now relies on its final match to qualify for the continental tournament.
The Superclásico took place on November 9, 2025, at 4:30 PM at La Bombonera, refereed by Nicolás Ramírez. Boca lined up with Agustín Marchesín; Juan Barinaga, Lautaro Di Lollo, Ayrton Costa, Lautaro Blanco; Carlos Palacios, Leandro Paredes, Milton Delgado, Exequiel Zeballos; Miguel Merentiel and Milton Giménez. River fielded Franco Armani; Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Paulo Díaz, Lautaro Rivero, Marcos Acuña; Juan Carlos Portillo, Kevin Castaño, Maxi Meza, Sebastián Driussi and Maxi Salas.
The first half was even with few clear chances. At the 46th minute of the first half, Exequiel Zeballos opened the scoring on a rebound from Armani, who saved his initial shot but left the ball loose. The goal came after bypassing Paulo Díaz.
In the second half, at the 1st minute, Miguel Merentiel extended the lead with an assist from Zeballos, who broke down the right flank. River had chances to pull one back, like a shot from Maxi Salas at the 49th minute of the second half that went over, and a header from Matías Galarza at the 44th, but failed to score.
Juan Román Riquelme, Boca's president, watched from the box and met beforehand with singer Dua Lipa, invited by the club, though it sparked controversy after she posed with a River jersey before the match. After the win, the players celebrated wildly in the locker room.
Claudio Úbeda, Boca's coach, dedicated the victory to Miguel Ángel Russo, who passed away on October 8: “He celebrates from above.” Marcelo Gallardo, River's coach, left silently without comments, surprising fans. Despite renewing his contract with Gallardo, River now needs to beat Vélez to qualify for the Libertadores.
Boca has 56 points in the annual table and returns to the group stage after two absent editions. Conmebol welcomed the Xeneize on social media.
