Boca Juniors beat River Plate at a raucous La Bombonera: Leandro Paredes clashes with fellow World Cup winners

At a raucous La Bombonera, Boca Juniors beat River Plate 1-0 in the Superclásico, with Lautaro Di Lollo making the difference. River went down to ten men after an early red card and finished with nine.

River's match started badly when Lucas Martínez Quarta held on to striker Miguel Merentiel's shirt a little too firmly. Merentiel went to ground eagerly and, after a VAR check, got what he wanted: a straight red card for Martínez Quarta.

Down to ten men, River still had experienced defenders Marcos Acuña, Nicolás Otamendi and Gonzalo Montiel on the pitch, but they could not stop Boca taking the lead. Di Lollo headed Sebastián Villa's corner neatly into the net.

Scuffles and interruptions punctuated the country's biggest match. On the stroke of half-time, Leandro Paredes clashed with Acuña, his team-mate in Argentina's title-winning side of 2022. Both players were booked.

As crunching tackles piled up, Lautaro Blanco escaped punishment for an obvious foul on his opponent's foot. Paredes also stayed on the pitch despite his clear foul and River's pleas, then briefly became involved in a scuffle with Otamendi.

With about ten minutes remaining, River went down to nine men. Montiel, whose penalty fired Argentina to the world title four years ago, received a straight red card for his very late tackle on Blanco.

As Montiel made his way towards the dressing room, various objects were thrown at him, and riot police eventually had to escort him off the pitch. Boca held on to their lead with eleven men against nine.