The night was ready for his party. Darío Benedetto fulfilled 100 matches with the Boca shirtthe one he loves, nothing less than facing Corinthians in a new night Libertadores Cup and in the rematch of the round of 16. “There they treated us like losers. Let’s show these sons of p … that we are winners, ”he said to his companions during the harangue in the tunnel, before stepping on the field of a vibrant Bombonera. Her voracity and her need to infect him were evident. The scorer came back for that: he resigned his stay in Europe in pursuit of his revenge of winning a trophy that obsesses the Boca world.
However, everything went against the grain on a Tuesday night that looked ideal. The number 9 did not negotiate his energy to continuously participate in the area and outside it, but he lacked what is most expected of him: being fine to widen the high goal average he has in his two cycles at the club. He had plenty of possibilities. The clearest was penalty that failed at 31 minutes, after Raúl Gustavo’s elbow to “Pol” Fernández: determined to execute towards the left post of the long goal Cássio (Benedetto’s right), he crashed the ball against the post. Insult to the air. The game was crucial.
The first missed penalty
It was already shaping up to be a bad night personally: 13 minutes earlier Pipa had wasted another clear one, after Exequiel Zeballos made a great run down the right and enabled him with a cross near the penalty spot. Alone, albeit at speed, Benedetto made a forced scissors that sent the ball well above the goal.
The fans thought it convenient to boost their morale at 38, with a standing ovation. Because four minutes earlier the attacker had failed again: he failed to connect an aerial ball, loose and far from the Corinthian goalkeeper’s position, from the far post. A black first half and a second in which he did not even have scoring opportunities. Perhaps the best he produced in both periods was several filtered passes to Sebastian Villa.
Despite the fact that personal performance and group clarity decreased in the final stage, Sebastián Battaglia decided to keep number 9 on the field for almost 100 minutes. Even when the need for fresh air seemed to prevail up front.
And it ended up being a black Tuesday for Benedetto. In the list of kickers, the scorer was placed fifth and last for the regular shootout. Agustín Rossi saved two in a row and served him the scorer classification, but he failed again and worse: a violent shot flew high, to the second layup.
The mistake in the decisive series
The series of penalties was very stretched and Corinthians took the classification by 6-5. Darío Benedetto returned to win the Copa Libertadores, but ended up being the main responsible for the elimination in the round of 16.