Boca Juniors thrash Barcelona of Ecuador in Copa Libertadores

Boca Juniors defeated Barcelona of Ecuador 3-0 in a match where they went from worse to better, with a great second half, played tonight at La Bombonera for the second matchday of Group D of the 2026 Copa Libertadores. The Xeneize struck near the end of both halves: defender Lautaro Di Lollo scored in the 38th minute of the first half, midfielder Santiago Ascacibar converted in the 36th minute of the second half, and midfielder Ander Herrera sealed the victory in the third minute of stoppage time. With the win, the team coached by Claudio Úbeda sits atop Group D with a perfect record after two matchdays, while the visiting team is last with no points. In the next round, the 'Xeneize' will travel to face Brazil's Cruzeiro on Tuesday, April 28, at 9:30 PM, while the Ecuadorian side will host Universidad Católica of Chile on Wednesday, 29, starting at 9:00 PM. The first chance of the game came from the visitors in the seventh minute, with a low, crossed shot from striker Darío Benedetto from outside the area, which was saved by goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín. In the 12th minute of the first half, the 'Xeneize' goalkeeper had to be substituted due to a knee injury, which caused him to leave the field crying inconsolably. In the 16th minute, following a long pass, attacker Miguel Merentiel advanced on the right, entered the area, and after a feint, unleashed a left-footed shot that went just wide of the far post. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Merentiel got past his man on the left and sent a chipped cross into the small area for midfielder Santiago Ascacibar, who had to duck to head the ball, but his weak shot went into the hands of goalkeeper José Contreras. The 'Xeneize' opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a long cross from left-back Lautaro Blanco to the far post for defender Lautaro Di Lollo, who took a few steps back inside the area and scored with an effective header that Contreras could only deflect onto his right post. Boca had the first chance of the second half in the fourth minute, with a through pass from midfielder Milton Delgado for Merentiel's run down the left, who tried to finish low and across but couldn't beat the opposing goalkeeper. In the 11th minute, a frontal cross from midfielder Leandro Paredes was controlled on the chest by Ascacibar, who, with his back to the goal, attempted a bicycle kick, though it went straight into the hands of José Contreras. A minute later, after another long ball from Delgado down the left flank, midfielder Tomás Aranda controlled the ball and entered the area, attempting to chip the ball over the goalkeeper's dive, but Contreras managed to clear it with his right hand. The 'Xeneize' extended their lead in the 36th minute of the second half, again from crosses on the left by Lautaro Blanco: the full-back overlapped and sent the ball into the area from the ground, enabling Ascacibar's header to make it 2-0. In stoppage time, in the third minute, midfielder Ander Herrera controlled the ball on the edge of the area and crossed a low shot that went in through the far post as Contreras stood motionless.