Boca Juniors return to La Bombonera to host Lanús
Boca Juniors played their first home match at La Bombonera in over a month on Friday, hosting Lanús in round 7 of Argentina's Torneo Clausura.
Return to the stadium after pitch renovation
On Friday, August 28, Boca Juniors played their first home match at their iconic La Bombonera stadium in more than a month. According to TN, the club had not played there for 35 days due to the poor condition of the pitch. During that period, Boca hosted its home matches at Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó, winning against Estudiantes and Paraguay's Recoleta, and drawing with Vélez. The last match played at La Bombonera before the works was a Copa Sudamericana play-off tie against Chile's O'Higgins, which Boca won 1-0 with a goal from Miguel Merentiel.
Match context
The game was part of matchday 7 of Argentina's Torneo Clausura, kicking off at 21:30 Argentine time. It was broadcast by TNT Sports, and in Brazil via ESPN and Disney+. Boca, coached by Rodolfo Arruabarrena, had won only once in their previous six league matches, drawing three in a row, and were looking to return to winning ways to climb both Zone A and the annual table. Sources differ slightly on Boca's exact league standing — Gazeta Esportiva and Sporting News both place the club 11th, though the precise points and match tallies vary slightly between reports.
Lanús, managed by Mauricio Pellegrino, arrived in an unstable run of form, having drawn 1-1 with Argentinos Juniors in their previous league game after a 1-3 defeat to Independiente. The club had also been eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana by Peru's Cienciano.
Lineups
Boca started with: Álvaro Montero; Dylan Gorosito, Lautaro Di Lollo, Facundo Herrera, Lautaro Blanco; Santiago Ascacíbar, Camilo Rey Domenech, Milton Delgado; Alan Velasco; Leonel Flores and Miguel Merentiel.
Lanús lined up with: Nahuel Losada; Tomás Guidara, Carlos Izquierdoz, José Canale, Sasha Marcich; Agustín Cardozo, Felipe Peña Biafore; Eduardo Salvio, Franco Watson, Dylan Aquino; Yoshan Valois.
Head-to-head history
According to Gazeta Esportiva, the two clubs have met 85 times overall, with Boca winning 41, 25 matches drawn, and Lanús winning 19. In their most recent meeting in March this year, Boca won 3-0.
