The Copa Diego Armando Maradona final was the final match to decide the champions of the 2020 Copa de la Liga Profesional (renamed "Copa Diego Armando Maradona"), the 1st edition of this national cup. It was played on 17 January 2021 at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in San Juan between Boca Juniors and Banfield.

Boca Juniors won the match via a penalty shoot-out after the game had finished 1–1 and were crowned as champions of the cup. As Boca Juniors had already qualified for the 2021 Copa Libertadores, San Lorenzo (best team of the 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Superliga aggregate table not yet qualified) gained the 2021 Copa Libertadores berth (Regulations Article 4.2).

The runners-up Banfield won a qualifying play-off against Vélez Sarsfield, winners of the Fase Complementación, to decide which one would participate in the 2022 Copa Sudamericana (Regulations Article 4.7).

Qualified teams Team Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) Boca Juniors None Banfield None

Road to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Boca JuniorsRoundBanfieldOpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResultLanús2–1 (A)Matchday 1River Plate3–1 (A)Newell's Old Boys2–0 (A)Matchday 2Godoy Cruz1–0 (H)Talleres (C)0–1 (H)Matchday 3Rosario Central4–2 (A)Lanús1–2 (H)Matchday 4River Plate0–2 (H)Newell's Old Boys2–0 (H)Matchday 5Godoy Cruz0–0 (A)Talleres (C)0–0 (A)Matchday 6Rosario Central1–1 (H)Zone 4 winnersFinal standingsZone 3 runners-upOpponentResultFase CampeónOpponentResultArsenal1–1 (H)Matchday 1Atlético Tucumán2–0 (A)Independiente2–1 (A)Matchday 2Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)2–1 (H)Huracán3–0 (H)Matchday 3Colón2–1 (A)River Plate2–2 (H)Matchday 4Talleres (C)2–3 (A)Argentinos Juniors2–2 (A)Matchday 5San Lorenzo4–1 (H)Group A winnersFinal standingsGroup B winners

Match

First half

In the first half, both teams were overly cautious and failed to break the score, despite a few near misses. Banfield's strategy was clear from the start: they ceded possession to Boca Juniors and focused on capitalizing on their opponents' mistakes to launch counter-attacks, knowing the opposing attackers' limited tracking back. On the other side, Boca Juniors lacked clarity in attack, except when Edwin Cardona or Sebastián Villa got hold of the ball.Boca le ganó a Banfield por penales y es el campeón de la Copa Diego Maradona on TyCSports. 18 Jan 2021 A shot from Cardona, another from Villa; two attempts by Martín Payero, some runs by Mauricio Cuero, were the first approaches in the initial minutes, stages that were of study, with maximum concentration from both teams.Boca le ganó por penales a Banfield y se consagró campeón de la Copa Diego Maradona on Infobae. 17 Jan 2021

From the 30-minute mark onward, both teams began to create chances with a bit more consistency. Villa, with a low shot in the 33rd minute, almost opened the scoring. But immediately afterward came Rodríguez's long-range effort that swerved in the air and forced an unorthodox save from Boca Juniors' goalkeeper Esteban Andrada. Both Boca and Banfield managed to neutralize each other.

Second half The lack of depth in the attack continued in the second half. Nevertheless, the first goal of the match came after a moment of brilliance from Cardona, who cut inside from the left, leaving Alexis Maldonado behind, and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot that was unstoppable for goalkeeper Mauricio Arboleda in the 18th minute. However, the Colombian felt a muscle strain as he shot and had to be substituted at his best moment by Eduardo Salvio. From then on, the team from the south tried their best, relying on set pieces and long-range shots.

The sending off of Boca Juniors' Emmanuel Mas for a second yellow card gave Banfield a boost. With renewed energy from the bench, they changed the dynamic of the match against a Boca Juniors side that finished with Nicolás Capaldo as right-back and Julio Buffarini on the left. To make matters worse, Diego González was injured in addittional time, further diminishing Banfield's chances of survival.

And when no one expected it, in the fifth minute of additional time, Luciano Lollo equalized with a double header in the penalty area, surprising Boca Juniors, forcing the match to penalties. In the shootout, the team coached by Miguel Angel Russo won the series 5–3, securing their 70th official title.

Details

GK 1 Esteban AndradaRB 4 Julio Buffarini CB 5 Carlos ZambranoCB 24 Carlos Izquierdoz (c)LB 3 Emmanuel Mas CM 14 Nicolás CapaldoCM 21 Jorman Campuzano RW 22 Sebastián Villa AM 19 Mauro Zárate LW 8 Edwin Cardona CF 9 Ramón Ábila Substitutes:GK 17 Agustín RossiDF 2 Lisandro LópezDF 18 Frank FabraDF 20 Gastón ÁvilaDF 29 Leonardo JaraMF 11 Eduardo Salvio MF 23 Diego González MF 33 Alan Varela FW 10 Carlos Tevez FW 27 Franco SoldanoFW 30 Exequiel ZeballosFW 34 Agustín ObandoManager: Miguel Ángel Russo

GK 1 Mauricio ArboledaRB 32 Emanuel CoronelCB 2 Alexis MaldonadoCB 6 Luciano LolloLB 3 Claudio Bravo CM 30 Jorge Rodríguez (c)CM 18 Giuliano Galoppo AM 21 Martín PayeroRW 17 Mauricio Cuero CF 9 Agustín FontanaLW 7 Fabián Bordagaray Substitutes:GK 27 Facundo AltamiranoDF 4 Rodrigo ArcieroDF 19 Alexis SosaDF 24 Luciano GómezMF 5 Nicolás LinaresMF 10 Jesús DátoloMF 22 Juan Pablo Álvarez MF 23 Jonás GutiérrezMF 25 Alejandro CabreraFW 11 Agustín Urzi FW 29 Luciano Pons FW 31 Mauricio Asenjo Manager: Javier Sanguinetti

Man of the Match: Edwin Cardona (Boca Juniors)

Assistant referees: Juan Pablo Belatti Hernán Maidana Fourth official: Nicolás Lamolina Reserve assistant referee: Cristian NavarroMatch rules 90 minutes Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Twelve named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions

Statistics +Overall Statistic BanfieldGoals scored 1 1Total shots 11 12Shots on target 7 5Ball possession 50% 50%Corner kicks 2 4 21 16Offsides 1 0Yellow cards 5 1Red cards 1 0

References