Argentine rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors will meet in Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores semi-final, nine months after their controversial 2018 final.
That match was the first time in 58 years the two sides had met in the final and it was full of drama.
The fixture was originally postponed after Boca’s team bus was attacked by River fans, causing injury to players.
It was then moved 6,000 miles from Buenos Aires to Madrid before River won 5-3 on aggregate at the Bernabeu.
The Copa Libertadores is the showpiece club competition in South America, equivalent to the Champions League in Europe, and there were several household names in attendance last year, including Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus’ Pablo Dybala.
The ferociousness of the rivalry was evident in the build-up to the final – a number of players, including Boca’s Carlos Tevez, reportedly suffered from dizziness and vomiting after the attack by River fans.
Boca argued River should have been disqualified from the competition and a late attempt to postpone the second leg was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
When the fixture eventually took place it didn’t disappoint – Juan Quintero scored a stunning extra-time strike in a 3-1 second-leg victory for River, who came from a goal down against 10-man Boca following a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
The two rivals played out a 0-0 draw on their most recent meeting, in the Superliga Argentina on 1 September, a match featuring 10 yellow cards.
