Palmeiras loses on penalties to Boca Juniors and the final failure in the Libertadores

Palmeiras, coached by Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira, failed to qualify for the Copa Libertadores final after losing to Argentina’s Boca Juniors on penalties on Thursday.

In the second leg of the semi-final, Boca Juniors took the lead through Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani in the 23rd minute, but played the final half hour with 10 men after Marcos Rojo was sent off.

Playing at home at the Allianz Park in Sao Paulo, Palmeiras took advantage of their numerical advantage and equalized with a shot from outside the penalty area from Uruguayan Joaquín Piqueres in the 73rd minute.

Since the first leg, played at the Boca Juniors stadium in Buenos Aires, ended in a 0-0 draw, the semi-final was decided by penalties.

There, goalkeeper Sergio Romero, who held the match in a draw after Rojo was sent off, shone with two saves from penalties from Rafael Veiga and Gustavo Gomez, allowing the Argentines to win with a score of 2-4.

Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira and Palmeiras were hoping to reach the Copa Libertadores final for the third time in four years after performances in 2020 and 2021 which ended with them winning the title in both. In 2022, the Sao Paulo team also crashed out of the semi-finals.

Boca Juniors will be aiming to win their seventh title in South America’s most important club competition against Fluminense, who beat Internacional 1-2 on Wednesday with two goals in six minutes.

The Copa Libertadores final will take place on November 4 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, home of Fluminense.

Fluminense played in the Copa Libertadores final in 2008 but lost on penalties to Liga de Quito team from Ecuador.

Boca’s triumph also breaks the streak of three consecutive years in which the Libertadores finalists have always been Brazilian clubs: Palmeiras-Santos (2020), Palmeiras-Flamengo (2021) and Flamengo-Atlético Paranaense “(2022).