Boca Juniors vs River Plate: 7 of the Biggest Clashes in the Superclásico's History

With the Superclásico being one of the biggest footballing rivalries in the world, it was inevitable that there would have been some great clashes between Boca Juniors and River Plate over the years.

There's certainly plenty of memorable moments and fantastic goals, in a fixture that Boca have the slight edge in with 89 wins to their rivals' 83.

Having read the story behind the rivalry itself (you're missing out if you haven't), here's are seven of the greatest clashes in the Superclásico's long and illustrious history.

Boca Juniors 3-0 River Plate (1981)

This encounter is widely remembered for Diego Maradona's iconic goal in a comfortable 3-0 victory for the Xeneizes.

Having turned down Los Millonarios for his beloved Boca, the Argentine wizard lined up for his first encounter at La Bombonera, with all eyes on him to show why he was so highly sought after by both clubs.

And he delivered, with a trademark run past multiple River Plate defenders before dribbling past goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol and tapping it into the net. It was a spectacular goal of individual brilliance that helped his team sweep past their opponents 3-0 on their way to securing the 1981 league title.

Boca Juniors 0-2 River Plate (1986)

Having wrapped up the 1986 league championship, River were in a victorious mood when they travelled to La Bombonera for this clash.

Their players were not going to let the home support forget their achievements, deciding to do a lap of honour around Boca's stadium which angered their fans tremendously. While the game itself did not see too much trouble, Los Xeneizes' supporters proceeded to throw countless bits of white paper onto the pitch, making it difficult to spot the match ball.

As a result, the game was played out with an orange-coloured ball, making this game known as the 'Orange Ball Superclásico'.La Banda picked up a 2-0 victory thanks to a brace from club legend Norberto Alonso.

Boca Juniors 3-0 River Plate (2000)

In terms of star power, this Superclásico had a lot to call upon. Lining up for the away side was the 'Fantastic Four'; which included the creative force Pablo Aimar and future Barcelona striker Javier Saviola. And having won their Copa Libertadores quarter-final first leg 2-1, Los Millonarios were confident of their chances to progress further.

With the game goalless at half time, the visitors would have fancied their chances to hold out in the second half. They weren't able to prevent a fantastic Boca display though, with star midfielder Juan Román Riquelme putting on a fantastic display to inspire his team to take a 2-0 lead.

In the dying moments, substitute Martín Palermo popped up to score the third goal that sent their rivals out of the competition. The home support wildly celebrated at the final whistle, and would have more to cheer later on as their team went on to win the final on penalties against Brazilian side Palmeiras.

River Plate 2-1 Boca Juniors (2004)

Four years on, the two teams met again in the Copa Libertadores, but this time at the semi-final stage. This time, it was Los Xeneizes who came into the second leg in a confident mood, having edged out their rivals 1-0 in the first leg.

That lead didn't last long, as the hosts scored through Luis González to level the aggregate score. However, the away side managed to get an equaliser through Carlos Tevez, who promptly did a chicken imitation in front of the River fans and was sent off as a result.

There was still one more twist to come, and it seemed as though Tevez's celebration would come back to haunt him as Cristian Nasuti's late goal for La Banda forced the game into a penalty shootout. Despite being down to ten men though, Boca managed to hold their nerve and prevailed on spot-kicks in a 5-4 scoreline, ensuring their passage to the final - despite their opponents' best efforts.

River Plate 1-0 Boca Juniors (2014)

With the semi-final first leg ending goalless, both sides were headed to El Monumental knowing fully that the winner of this encounter was headed for the final of the Copa Sudamericana.

It was the hosts who had goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero to thank early on as he saved a Boca penalty to keep his team from going behind; a save which bacame even more important when River's Leonardo Pisculichi scored, putting his side 1-0 up.

Holding out for the rest of the game, River ended up winning the game by that single goal; the first time they had knocked out their rivals in an international competition in 28 years. Fans duly celebrated the result, before watching their team lift the trophy a few weeks later.

River Plate 2-4 Boca Juniors (2016)

This goal-filled encounter featured a stand-out performance from Boca legend Tevez, whose brace helped his side come out winners at the final whistle.

The home side led 2-1 at half time thanks to a goal apiece from their forward duo of Sebastián Driussi and Lucas Alario. But a fantastic second-half display, including two goals from Tevez, helped inspire a two-goal turnaround to silence fans of La Banda at El Monumental.

Ricardo Centurión would score late on to seal the 4-2 win for the visitors, who took full advantage of some poor defending to inflict further pain on their rivals.

River Plate 3-1 Boca Juniors (2018)

The two teams met in the final of the 2018 Copa Libertadores, with some in the media calling this two-legged final the most important in Argentina's football history.

Having finished 2-2 in the first leg, the return game was relocated to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu after the Boca team bus was violently attacked by fans of Los Millonarios. This hardly dampened the spectacle at all though, as 72,000 fans were in attendance to watch these two sides battle it out for silverware in Madrid.

Just before half time, Dario Benedetto scored to put Los Xeneizes in front – but a strong second-half display from their opponents saw Lucas Pratto get the decisive equaliser, sending the game into extra time.

After Wilmar Barrios was sent off for Boca, River took full advantage with Juan Quintero scoring to send his team into the lead. With seconds to go, Leonardo Jara hit the post for the blue side, an error made even worse when Pity Martínez scored from the resulting counter-attack to seal the 3-1 victory for La Banda.

It sent their support into ecstatic celebrations both in Madrid and Buenos Aires as the River players celebrated a famous cup final victory over their arch-rivals.