With the definition that was pending between Boca Juniors and Racing, settled in favor of the 'xeneize' – with a 2-0 they traced the defeat by the minimum of the first leg – they finished the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores and left some pairings of High voltage semis worthy of the best times: Boca-Santos and River-Palmeiras.
Argentine giants River and Boca, and two heavyweights from Brazil, Santos and Palmeiras, will meet on their way to the grand final on January 30 in Maracana. The 'millionaires' will be measured against 'Verdao' while their most staunch rival will do so with 'Peixe', therefore in the title match there could be a cross between teams from both countries or a comparative duel, with the possibility including a reissue of the famous 2018 Madrid final. In the two clashes, to be played between January 5 and 13, the Argentine teams will be local in the first leg.
River, favorite
Those of Marcelo Gallardo, champions that time and finalists last year, appear as the top favorites, due to their antecedents -fifth time in the semis of the last six editions- and especially because of the performance shown in the quarterfinals, in which they overwhelmed Uruguay national with an aggregate of 8-2.
However, they will not have anything easy, because if there is another team that showed solidity and forcefulness in this edition, it is Palmeiras, which arrives at this stage undefeated and after leaving Libertad of Paraguay on the road with a 4-1 on aggregate .
Santos and Boca, old acquaintances
On the other side of the key, two old acquaintances are measured, who once played two finals (in 1963 it was won by Santos and 40 years later the victory was for Boca). The ‘Peixe’ came from leaving the also Brazilian Gremio (5-2 overall) on the road with some ease, while the ‘xeneize’ had to sweat the fat drop to overcome their compatriot Racing (2-1).