Boca Juniors (Argentina) and Palmeiras (Brazil) semifinalists of CONMEBOL Libertadores 2023.

Yesterday, Wednesday, two matches were played to qualify for the CONMBOL Libertadores 2023 semifinalists.

In the Cilindro de Avellaneda (Buenos Aires) the local Racing and Boca Juniors faced each other, the only two superstite teams in Argentine soccer.

While in Brazil, and practically qualified (as a visitor they had won 4-0) the local Palmeiras faced the revelation of the contest, Deportivo Pereyra (Colombia).

Boca, the Argentine semifinalist of the Libertadores: Romero shone on penalties and eliminated Racing.

• The Xeneize goalkeeper contained two shots in the definition.

• They were 180 minutes without goals, but with a lot of intensity.

• Palmeiras, first in La Bombonera and then in Brazil, the last stumbling block before the Maracana.

Boca is a semifinalist in the Copa Libertadores . Racing was left on the road and now he will have to think about Palmeiras , that rival in 2000 and 2001 that was branded on the skin of the xeneizes and also Juan Román Riquelme , the idol-leader who has already won three cups as a player and is looking for one more without the shorts. On the field, a group of players who are faithful to the history of Boca and pay the vice president with his hierarchy answer for him.

Because Sergio Romero was once again a giant to cover the penalties of Piovi and Sigali in the definition that sealed the classification, because Marcos Rojo was impassable. And because in addition to the figure of Edinson Cavani there is a group of young players who trust the coach's idea and feel comfortable walking the ledge in these two series that have already gone through penalties. Illusion now asks for more, it forces a team that wants to conquer America to play better, to dominate its rivals and, at least, close the series during the game and not need to appeal to penalties. The players have them .

From the beginning it was clear what Almirón's strategy was going to be in Avellaneda: cool down the euphoria of the first minutes and think about a long game. How Sergio Romero delayed the restart of the game every time he had to take the goal was the clearest indicator. Afterwards, the game plan of recovering in the middle and getting out quickly didn't work .

It was difficult for Medina to get into rhythm (very concerned about covering Advíncula), Pol Fernández was playing at the wrong time and the other Fernández, Equi , sacrificed much of his good management in exchange for maintaining the position. In the first half neither the Peruvian on the right nor Frank Fabra on the left could make a big difference and except for a few flashes from Cavani and (later) Medina, Boca did not attack. Pol Fernández 's solitary shot (very wide) was very little to worry Arias. Even so, when the visit collected passes in the rival field, he implied that if he tried to do so, he could hurt his rival.

The Racing thing was much more obvious and also more effective. Gago's team came out to bite in the middle, to mark presence, to press and try to put Maxi Romero in front of the goal. He did it very quickly, after 2 minutes, but the definition of the former Vélez hit the post when the field collapsed and the line -without delay- raised his flag for an advanced position that did not exist and that the VAR would have corrected if the ball entered the goal.

The best of La Academia was seen in the first half when the legs were still fresh. The public rose with a header from Romero that went far, but the perspective of the stadium generated a sensation of goal. Although the one that did come very close (with two fingers, barely) was a volley from Juanfer Quintero at minute 38 that could have dealt a final blow to the series.

For the second half, Almirón moved the bench and put together two lines of four. Janson and Weigandt went to the court. But it wasn't two buses to cover Romero's goal. Boca was ordered, little by little Equi and Medina were setting the pace of the game.

Cavani was able to unbalance when Advíncula left him alone in the area with a headed pass. But the Uruguayan entered the area underfoot and defined badly against Arias, who drowned out his cry and gave the 50,000 fans who filled the Cilindro their breath.

The break of the game was when Iván Moreno stepped badly in the middle of the field and was injured. Gago surprised with the entry of Baltasar Rodríguez. But Racing got a puncture and Boca -with little- put him against the ropes.

But the visit lacked attitude and determination to seal their qualification to the semifinals in the 1990s. One by Janson on the left, another by Weigandt, who entered the area on the right and failed to define or shoot the center back. Almirón felt comfortable with the 0-0 score and he just put Zeballos on the closing line, for penalties.

Racing went looking for him in the end. Almendra's income gave him a panorama. But he never worried Chiquito Romero and he couldn't break Marcos Rojo. The best of Boca in the game and also in the series. The 90s were fulfilled, as Boca and Almirón wanted, and in the penalties Chiquito was once again a hero and the kickers did not fail.

Boca is among the top four in America for the first time since 2018, that year that it seeks to erase with its seventh continental star. Almirón has three games left to enter the great history of the club, but he must know that penalties will not always be on his side.

Palmeiras won and will be Boca's rival for the Copa Libertadores.

The Brazilian team drew 0-0 against the Colombians and since they had won 4-0 in the first leg, they went on to the next phase.

Palmeiras and Deportivo Pereira could not take advantage in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals , but the tie served the Brazilian team and they entered the semifinal, where they will have to face Boca.

After the first leg in which those led by Abel Ferreira won 4-0, only a catastrophe could leave them out against those from Colombia and that was the case. Despite the fact that the visitors had chances to score and discount the final series, they failed to turn it around.

One of the clearest for Deportivo Pereira was at the end of the first half when Ángelo Rodríguez won well on the left and after dribbling past two defenders, he finished off Aldair Quintana's goal, but the post denied him the goal.

Later, Artur had his for Palmeiras at 30 minutes into the second half. In addition, things ended up getting complicated for the Colombian team when at 36' they suffered the loss of Juan Quintero Fletcher, who saw the red card.

El Verdao arrives sharp, is one of the great candidates and the series will be defined in Sao Paulo the first week of October.

Palmeiras is one of those teams that for several years has reached the final stages of the Copa Libertadores almost without breaking a sweat. This time, they got into the semifinals after beating Deportivo Pereira 4-0 in the first leg and ending the series in São Paulo with a 0-0 trot. For this reason, Boca will have a fearsome adversary to seek the pass to the grand final on November 4 at the Maracana.

The father of the creature is Abel Ferreira. The 44-year-old Portuguese who, since his arrival in the team in 2020, has made Verdao a candidate for all the titles he fights for. In the Brasileirao, for example, the paulistas are also competing and are second with 40 points in 21 dates, 11 behind Botafogo.

This year, he got into the top four of the continental tournament after sweeping Group C where he won five of the six games he played, was the best first and from very early on he emerged as a contender for the championship.

In the round of 16, after drawing 0-0 at home, they won 1-0 in Minas Gerais in the second leg and eliminated Atlético Mineiro. In the quarterfinals, he resolved the story with much less suffering -as was said- and he is already waiting to start the series of semis in Buenos Aires and define at the Allianz Parque.

Sources images: Twitter CONMEBOL Libertadores.