Carlos Tevez scored a first-half goal as Boca Juniors advanced to the semifinals of Argentina's Primera Division on Sunday by beating coronavirus-hit rivals River Plate on penalties.
Tevez opened the scoring in the single-match quarterfinal at Boca's La Bombonera when he sent a diving header past goalkeeper Alan Diaz after Cristian Medina's cross from the right flank.
River Plate, who were forced to field a depleted team after 15 players tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, equalized when Julian Alvarez nodded in at the far post after Fabrizio Angileri's floating cross.
Angileri and Leonardo Ponzio both failed to convert their attempts for River in the ensuing shootout.
Boca midfielder Edwin Cardona also bungled his spot-kick, but the Colombian was reprieved as teammates Sebastian Villa, Carlos Izquierdoz, Julio Buffarini and Tevez held their nerve, securing the hosts a 4-2 win in the shootout.
"We could have settled the result earlier but it wasn't easy because the responsibility was on us to win," Boca head coach Miguel Russo said after the match.
"We keep improving and the idea going forward is to try to win these matches another way [without penalties]," he added.
In Sunday's other quarterfinal, Racing Club also beat Velez Sarsfield 4-2 on penalties after a goalless stalemate at El Fortin.
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