In the most tense match since the start of the Club World Cup, Boca Juniors and Benfica played out a real derby that was very reminiscent of the FIFA World Cup with a score of 2-2. The Hard Rock Stadium finally seemed to be filled more with soccer fans and less with tourists, mainly due to the presence of Argentinians.
Benfica tried to adopt a more aggressive stance in the first half, while Boca opted for counter-attacks, with Renato Sanches and Plavidis the main references in the final third of the pitch. Di María also came close to being decisive when he played a long throw to Bruma, but the ball ended up hitting the post.
This opportunity was almost given away and Boca Juniors woke up and took the lead when Blanco dribbled sensationally past Florentino and shot low into the area, with the ball arriving for Merentiel to deflect into the net. Benfica tried to react, but gave away far more space and ended up conceding a second goal when Ayrton Costa put Battaglia through.
It looked like the first half would end 2-0 due to Boca's excellent defensive performance, but in stoppage time, the VAR was called and the referee awarded a penalty to Otamendi. From the spot, Ángel Dí María slid the ball past the goalkeeper and scored.
Boca Juniors bet on anti-play in the second half and paid dearly
The goal conceded at the end of the first half made Boca adopt a much more defensive stance after the break, even practicing the traditional anti-game of South American soccer with many stoppages and fierce tackles. Unable to break the defensive deadlock, Benfica lost control of their emotions when Belotti hit Ayrton Costa in the head and was sent off.
Even with the numerical advantage of players on the pitch, Boca stuck to their strategy and allowed Benfica to find good attacking moves until they scored the equalizer in the 79th minute, when Otamendi took advantage of a corner kick and shot deep into the net to level the score. The tension rose even higher before the final whistle when Figal was shown a straight red card after a hard foul on Florentino.