Boca Juniors Beats Universidad Catolica to Top Copa Libertadores Group D

Boca Juniors defeated Universidad Catolica of Chile 2-1 in a match played tonight at the Claro Arena for the first matchday of Group D of the 2026 Copa Libertadores. The Argentine side struggled to reflect its superiority on the scoreboard. The goalscorers of the night were midfielder Leandro Paredes, who scored in the 15th minute of the first half, and forward Adam Bareiro, whose goal came in the 19th minute of the second half. For the home team, defender Juan Díaz scored in the 37th minute. With the victory, the team led by Claudio Úbeda leads the continental tournament's Group D with three points, while the Chilean team is last without any points. In the next matchday, 'Xeneize' will host Barcelona of Ecuador on Tuesday, April 14th, at 9:00 PM, while the team coached by Argentine manager Daniel Garnero will visit Cruzeiro of Brazil on Wednesday, the 15th, starting at 7:00 PM. Boca opened the scoring in its first dangerous attack in the 15th minute of the first half when midfielder Leandro Paredes captured a loose ball on the edge of the area and fired a powerful shot that went in low and along the post of goalkeeper Vicente Bernedo. In the 33rd minute, a lofted pass from Paredes with the outside of his right foot set up midfielder Santiago Ascacibar, who controlled the ball on his chest on the run and fired a volley with his left foot, which Bernedo saved to the near post. After a long 'Xeneize' buildup in the first minute of added time, defender Lautaro Blanco put in a low cross to the near post for forward Adam Bareiro, but his shot lacked precision. The visitors' first chance in the second half came in the first minute when a through ball from midfielder Milton Delgado left defender Ayrton Costa one-on-one, but defender Branco Apuero cleared it off the line. The home side had no more chances until the 9th minute of the second half, when a run down the right by winger Clemente Montes ended with a cross to the far post for the header of forward Justo Giani, whose shot would have gone into the top-left corner if not for a good save by goalkeeper Leandro Brey. In the 16th minute, following another through ball from Paredes, midfielder Tomás Aranda entered the area from the left and took a shot with spin that went towards the left post of Bernedo. The second goal of the night came in the 19th minute, with a good individual play from Aranda who used a 'taco' to allow Blanco to make a run down the left. Blanco then put in a low cross to the far post for Bareiro, who only had to push the ball into the net with a first-time touch. In the 26th minute of the second half, a shot from the left edge of the area by midfielder Jhojan Valencia went just wide of Brey's left post. The consolation goal came in the 37th minute when Giani was able to chip the ball over a failed attempt by the 'Xeneize' goalkeeper to cut it with his hands, leaving the ball loose in the area for Juan Díaz to make it 2-1.