After the final whistle confirmed Cruzeiro’s 1-0 win over Boca Juniors on Tuesday night (28), the Mineirão pitch became the scene of a major scuffle involving players from both teams.
The tension, which had already been building throughout the 90 minutes, exploded as soon as the match ended.
Advertisement
Players and members of the Argentine side’s coaching staff left the bench and went after the Cruzeiro players, setting off a heated shoving match.
The origin of the scuffle
The incident was sparked when Argentine player Leandro Paredes confronted midfielder Matheus Pereira right after the final whistle.
Tensions between the two had already been high from the opening minutes, when Paredes was shown a yellow card (before the 10-minute mark) for chesting up to Raposa’s No. 10.
That final confrontation caused a crowd to gather and inflamed tempers on both sides.
Despite the tense scenes and the widespread arguing, Cruzeiro’s players tried to calm things down and, fortunately, the episode did not escalate into physical violence. Little by little, tempers cooled and the players headed down to the locker rooms.
Advertisement
Gamesmanship and a heroic win
With the ball rolling, the Group Stage Matchday 3 clash was marked by high intensity, hard fouls, and the traditional Argentine gamesmanship.
The referee had plenty of work: he handed out nine yellow cards and sent off a Boca Juniors player in the first half.
Showing emotional intelligence, Artur Jorge’s team did not fall for the provocation and managed to finish the match without having any player sent off.
The team’s patience paid off late on. In the final minutes of the match, Neyser Villarreal scored the goal that sealed the 1-0 win and sent the Cruzeiro fans at the Mineirão into celebration.
Advertisement
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
Read the full article here