Fortaleza beat him in Brazil for the Sudamericana

Boca’s trip to Brazil did not go as expected and the team with enough of an alternative that planted Diego Martinez fell 4-2 on their visit to the strong and ambitious Fortaleza. It was a false step for the Argentine team, but the coach also had to think about Tuesday’s semifinal against Students for the League Cup.

Martínez took care of some interpreters, especially Edinson Cavani, who stayed in the country. The coach also modified almost the entire defense (only Cristian Lema repeated) and that was the big difference in the duel on Brazilian soil.

Boca got off to a bad start as a result of the pressure from the Brazilian team, the 33 degree wind chill and 80 percent humidity. Quickly, a couple of mistakes at the start put Sergio Romero in trouble. First, a bad delivery from Cristian Medina caused a cross shot from Yago Pikachu that went close. And a few minutes later, Ezequiel Fernández gave a complex ball to Nicolás Figal, who could not control it and which Juan Lucero converted for a goal after the authorization of former River Tomás Pochettino. 4 minutes had passed and the field looked like a cauldron.

But Boca did not lose its head and there you can find a virtue in those led by Martínez. He had already shown that temperance in the Córdoba Superclásico. He settled in as the duel progressed and was able to cool the process through the management of Equi Fernández, who this time shared half of the field with Medina, while the pardoned Frank Fabra and the youth Jabes Saralegui occupied the wings. Boca attacked a lot on the left with Fabra and Saracchi, but reached the tie after a great play on the right between Langoni and Saralegui, which scored the goal for Miguel Merentiel in the heart of the small area. The Uruguayan only had to touch the goal to spark the celebration.

The rest of the first half was frenetic and back and forth. Maybe it was not the game that Boca had to play, but Martínez’s idea is like that. The Argentine cast suffered a lot on the left, with the climbs of Yago Pikachu.

And Boca came back asleep in the complement. There you can point out a warning sign for Martínez, because River also hit him at the beginning of the Córdoba match. In the first moments, Chiquito Romero had to scramble to deny Pikachu and José Welison the goal.

Boca did not wake up, it could not slow down that passionate start of Fortaleza. It is true that Lucero invented a goal from another game: he headed a free kick from Pochettino from very far away and changed the stick to Romero, who had a weak response.

Gato’s second goal was a blow that stunned the visitor because all the actions that followed were dangerous. Boca’s defense had a night to forget: they missed Luis Advíncula too much – he came in well -, Marcos Rojo and Lautaro Blanco. Pochettino played a brilliant pass between Figal and Saracchi and Pikachu scored his well-deserved goal. Minutes later, the midfielder again touched a Machuca ball with his chest that went over Chiquito, again with a poor reaction.

Boca looked for the discount and played with dignity in the final minutes. Fortaleza could have stretched the lead, but the forwards were poor: they prioritized luxury over effectiveness. Martínez did not take full care of himself because he sent Advíncula and Zenón to the field. The former Unión scored 2-4 with a long shot that had the help of goalkeeper João Ricardo.

The defeat now complicates Boca’s aspirations to finish first in Group D. Fortaleza won the 3 games it played and has a good goal difference. Thus, it will not be enough to beat them in the Bombonera: those led by Juan Pablo Vojvoda will have to leave more points along the way.

But that will be another story because now Boca will turn the page. And he will focus on Tuesday’s game in Córdoba.