Barcelona 1 Boca Juniors 1 (2-4 on penalties): Xavi’s team loses the Maradona Cup match as the giants pay tribute to the Argentine legend.
Boca Juniors won the Maradona Cup by defeating Barcelona 4-2 on penalties in a match honoring the legendary Argentinian.
The game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Boca came back from behind to hold Barcelona at bay.
With a venomous strike into the top corner, Ferran Jutlga Blanc gave Xavi’s side the lead five minutes into the second half.
But 13 minutes from time, Boca drew level when full-back Frank Fabra perfectly pulled the ball back for Exequiel Zeballos to tuck in.
The match then went to penalties, with Marcos Rojo, a former Manchester United defender, scoring for Boca before Dani Alves equalized for Barcelona.
Boca won the next two penalty kicks to go up 3-2, but Barca’s goalkeeper Blanc missed the third, giving the Argentine team the lead.
Aaron Molinas’ goal made it 4-2 and put the pressure on Guillem Jaime, who is 22 years old.
He then missed his penalty as Boca celebrated a stunning victory over a struggling Barcelona.
Xavi’s starting XI had some senior players despite the fact that it was a much-changed squad.
Alves, Eric Garcia, Clement Lenglet, Sergino Dest, and Philippe Coutinho were among them.
Between 1982 and 1984, Maradona appeared in 58 games for Barcelona, scoring 38 goals.
That came after a one-year stint with Boca Juniors in 1981, during which he scored 28 goals in 40 appearances.
He returned to Boca in 1995 for the final three years of his career, scoring seven times in 31 games after a lengthy spell at Napoli and spells at Sevilla and Newell’s Old Boys.
Boca Juniors, Maradona’s former club, finished fourth in the Primera Division this season, with River Plate winning the title.
Barcelona, meanwhile, is in eighth place in LaLiga after only six wins in their first 16 games.
For the first time in 20 years, they have also been eliminated from the Champions League group stage.
Xavi’s team has been relegated to the Europa League and will face Napoli in the next round, another of Maradona’s former clubs.