Boca lost at home to ten men. Now nobody knows where the second leg will be played

By the Data Desk · Published 14 OCT 05:45

Vasco da Gama played the last 26 minutes at La Bombonera with ten men, and Boca Juniors still could not find a goal. The Brazilians won the Copa Sudamericana semi-final first leg 1-0, and by Wednesday morning the louder fight was in a Brazilian court, over whether next Tuesday's second leg can be played at the Maracanã at all.

• Adson headed the only goal in the 25th minute from Carlos Andrés Gómez's cross; Gómez was later sent off for two yellow cards, the second for pushing the referee (Infobae).
• Boca's 17-game unbeaten run is over, and La Nación counts a sixth straight home stumble for Boca in a decisive game.
• Boca must win by two goals in the second leg on Tuesday 20 October to go through; the final is in Barranquilla on 21 November.

Rodolfo Arruabarrena packed his midfield with Williams Alarcón and started Enner Valencia ahead of Miguel Merentiel, looking for "más presencia en el área y juego aéreo" (more presence in the box and in the air). La Nación describes a Boca side that was rushed and short of ideas, and one that missed Leandro Paredes, out with a hamstring tear. Vasco scored in the 25th minute: Gómez crossed and Adson headed in.

Then Gómez turned from hero to problem. He was booked for stopping a restart after a foul on Santiago Ascacibar, then shown a second yellow for pushing the referee, and Vasco played with ten from the 64th minute (Infobae). Boca still did not score. "Nos vamos con una sensación de frustración" (we leave with a sense of frustration), Arruabarrena said, before adding: "restan 90 minutos, somos Boca, vamos a ir a buscarlo" (there are 90 minutes left, we are Boca, we will go for it).

Behind the scenes, the second leg has become a legal fight. The Maracanã is run by a consortium of Flamengo and Fluminense, which went to court to keep Vasco out; Rio's state court gave the stadium back to Vasco early on Tuesday, and the consortium has now asked Brazil's Superior Court of Justice, whose president Luis Felipe Salomão must decide, to suspend the event (Infobae). Vasco's own São Januário is below Conmebol's 30,000-seat minimum, and Conmebol has told Vasco that Asunción, Paraguay, is the fallback if the Maracanã is barred.

The words from Rio are not friendly. Vasco president Pedrinho called the consortium's move "una cobardía con la institución" (an act of cowardice against the club), as quoted by Infobae, while Flamengo's José Boto said: "Preocupa pagar por tu casa y que venga otra persona y haga una fiesta" (it is worrying to pay for your house and have someone else come and throw a party). Vasco had sold close to 50,000 tickets after Tuesday's ruling, Infobae reports. What happens next: the court's decision, which could come within days, then kick-off on Tuesday 20 October at 21:30 Brasília time (00:30 UTC on Wednesday).