Boca Juniors lost tonight 1-0 in their visit to Deportivo Pereira, for the fourth date of Group F of the Copa Libertadores whose lead is now shared by Argentines and Colombians, who won by a header from Arley Rodríguez immediately after goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved Juan Pablo Zuluaga from a penalty kick.
The surprise victory places Pereira (7 points) above the Chilean Cacique (5) in the fight for the second place in the group. Boca continues to lead with the same points as the Colombians but with a better goal difference and Monagas clings to a remote hope with two points.
At the end of the initial stage, the locals almost scored when Paraguayan striker Danilo Santacruz received a free kick in the area and took a shot that went wide.
In the second half, the pace of the match remained the same and there were few chances.
Pereira wasted a counterattack in which the midfielder Jhonny Vásquez, alone in the area, launched a weak shot that Romero saved without problems.
Boca, meanwhile, took possession of the ball and played more time in the opposite field, but had many difficulties for the attackers Sebastián Villa and Darío Benedetto to remain in comfortable positions facing Quintana’s goal.
In this context, the game was destabilized when the center-back Nicolás Figal brought down Angelo Rodríguez in the area at minute 72 and two minutes later, in the collection, ‘Chiquito’ Romero saved the penalty from midfielder Juan Pablo Zuluaga.
However, the joy of Jorge Almirón’s team was short-lived because the creative Johan Bocanegra sent a precise cross for the striker Arley Rodríguez, who had entered in the second half and sent the ball into the back of the net with an accurate header to put celebrate the crowd that filled the Hernán Ramírez Villegas.
In closing, the Colombians were closer to increasing the difference against an opponent who was knocked out after the goal.
