Boca beats River at La Bombonera for the first time in over three years, punching its ticket to the 2026 Libertadores

La Bombonera had to wait more than three years to celebrate a Superclasico win again. It happened this Sunday, on an afternoon when Boca Juniors controlled the thing that matters most in these games: finishing. River Plate had most of the ball, as usually happens when Marcelo Gallardo's side visits the Boca stadium, but it wasn't enough. Boca won 2-0 on matchday 15 of the 2025 Clausura Tournament and, in the process, booked its place in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores.

The match, with Hugo Ibarra in charge of the home side, followed a familiar script: the Millonario held more possession, while the hosts waited for their moment. That moment came from a set piece, which in these derbies is never a coincidence. Exequiel Zeballos, the standout player of the afternoon, and Miguel Merentiel were the ones who made the difference, each at a key stretch of the match, the kind of moments that end up deciding games that feel endless for those watching from the outside.

Uruguayan forward Merentiel once again showed why he's earned a place among the key names of this rivalry. It's not the first time he's come up with a standout moment against River: not long ago he produced a play for the highlight reel, nutmegging Anibal Moreno right in midfield, the kind of thing that gets fans out of their seats. This time his contribution came at just the right moment, in a match Boca managed patiently until it found the cracks it needed.

A release 1,155 days in the making

The number that best captures the scale of the celebration has to do with the calendar. Boca hadn't beaten River at home since September 11, 2022, when it won 1-0 on a Dario Benedetto header in the 65th minute, in a match that ended with Marcos Rojo sent off. Since then, the record at La Bombonera had favored the Millonario: the last meeting, on September 21, 2024, saw River win 1-0 with a goal from Manuel Lanzini, in the middle of the Libertadores quarterfinal series against Colo Colo that had Gallardo resting starters.

Doing the exact math helps put the drought in perspective: 3 years, 1 month and 27 days without a home win over the archrival. For a Boca fan, that's an eternity, especially knowing that in between there were River visits that left with all three points.

The Superclasico, in any case, always leaves behind more than just the result of the day. With more than 250 meetings in its history, every new chapter adds to an endless list of key names, historic goal scorers and lines that stay etched in the collective memory of both fan bases. This 2-0 win at La Bombonera, with Zeballos and Merentiel as the protagonists, has already secured its place in that history.