Boca
arrived in Santa Fe with the clean and jerk of Edinson Cavani's three goals, but only kicked Nicolás Campisi's goal once, who flies like a superhero to repeal the
Law of the Ex
.
The blue and gold expectation, which was generated by the good feelings produced by the draw against River in the Monumental and the victory against Belgrano in the Bombonera,
crumbles in ninety colorless minutes
.
And
Unión
, which was one point below its illustrious rival and three units from the classification zone, won with authority.
He needed a stopped ball at the end, although
he did plenty of merit
throughout the entire match.
In nine games,
irregularity dominates
Diego Martínez's team
, which barely made two changes to the formation that beat the Cordoba team on Sunday.
Lucas Blondel and Carlos Lema entered the defense, changes that were not substantial.
The side did little to attack and the defender, who had physical difficulties, did not give the guarantees of other nights.
Slow in the advance, weak in the exit.
Nicolás Valentini, recently called up to the National Team,
was far from justifying Lionel Scaloni's decision.
He was responsible for the Santa Fe goal.
Unión took over the limelight based on the projection on the wings, the aggressiveness of its midfielders with arrival and a restless attack in which Lucas Gamba, especially, and Adrián Balboa excelled.
With the exception of those first minutes in which he seemed to go deeper with Kevin Zenón, Boca was diluted by the Tatengue pressure.
And there was a controversial play, something almost common in all Argentine soccer games.
Cristian Medina disputed a ball with Franco Pardo and stomped on the local defender's instep.
Fernando Rapallini showed him the yellow card.
In his opinion, there was no recklessness or serious foul play.
The Córdoba player's leg did not return the same sensation.
Cristian Medina arrived late against Franco Pardo and hit him hard ⚔️ Todo Unión demanded the expulsion of the Boca midfielder #LPFxTNTSports pic.twitter.com/FqOrqVfBsa
— TNT Sports Argentina (@TNTSportsAR) March 6, 2024
Unión had two very clear chances and Sergio Romero vindicated himself after his opaque task against Belgrano.
They were two notable saves from the goalkeeper.
First, after a combination between Gamba and Balboa, he blocked a kick from Mauro Pittón with his body.
He bailed quickly and got to the shot on time.
Later, after a center from Gamba, he handled a point-blank header from Pardo.
Boca, on the other hand, did not finish at Campisi's goal.
That flexible Union scheme did not allow it to approach the game.
With a 5-3-2 that was deployed to attack and retreated with the mission of cutting circuits when it was time to defend, he left Medina without creative options.
The visiting team reacted with the changes.
Luca Langoni and Lucas Janson entered, names that refreshed, instead of Jabes Saralegui – this time not very gravitating – and Cavani, again soulless.
Then, Luis Advíncula joined.
And the Peruvian combined with Langoni on the right, the pass arrived for Zenón and a powerful left foot shot that asked for an angle.
Campisi showed off with a spectacular save.
Kily
González dismantled the line of five, introduced Nicolás Orsini instead of Bruno Pittón, launched a 4-3-3 and never relaxed the intensity
.
Unión, with Gamba as a guide, handled each replica.
And in the end, Boca made unforced errors.
From a stopped ball came Lautaro Blanco's advance and the corner that led to the goal.
Gamba executed,
Claudio Corvalán
won against Valentini and the ball hit far from Romero's reach.
UNION GOT THE ADVANTAGE 🔴⚪
Claudio Corvalán won from above in the area and with a header made it 1-0 against Boca #LPFxTNTSports pic.twitter.com/crOsqhfaVt
— TNT Sports Argentina (@TNTSportsAR) March 7, 2024
It was a reward for the captain, who had shown great firmness as a stopper and was incisive from his side.
It was a punishment for Boca, who did not know how to take advantage of the Cavani effect and has a brave classic ahead of them against Racing on the banks of the Riachuelo.
Which can mean recovery and the hope of getting into the final four or a hard emotional blow.
It is known, in the
xeneize
world there are no middle terms.