85,018 tickets sold out in 2 hours. River edge Boca in South America's ‘Superclasico’
River Plate edged Boca Juniors 2-1 at their home, Mas Monumental.
River Plate edged Boca Juniors 2-1 at their home, Mas Monumental.
River Plate edged Boca Juniors 2-1 at their home, Mas Monumental.
A record crowd of 85,018 witnessed the latest 'Superclasico', one of the fiercest derbies in world football, played between Argentine clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate. The 264th edition of the 'Superclasico' at River Plate's home of Monumental de River Plate, also known as Mas Monumental, was sold out within two hours.
River Plate secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over their Buenos Aires rivals in Argentina's Primera Division Apertura competition. Moments before the packed Mas Monumental reverberated with the noise of the fans, there was a minute's silence for Pope Francis, who died last week.
Teenager Franco Mastantuono put River ahead with a freekick in the 25th minute. The 17-year-old fired in a masterful left-foot curler from 30 metres out.
A defensive error allowed Miguel Merentiel to run through on goal and slot home Boca's equaliser in the 38th minute. But the hosts found a second goal shortly before half time, through Sebastian Dirussi, which turned out to be the winner.
An expansion project at the Mas Monumental in 2024 increased its seating capacity by 1,100 seats, making it the largest football stadium in South America.
Two other big football stadiums in South America are the Monumental U in Lima, Brazil, with a capacity of 80,000 and the Maracana Stadium in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, with a capacity of 78,838.
The iconic Maracana, which famously hosted 1,99,854 fans during the 1950 World Cup final between Brazil and Uruguay, underwent several renovations over the years, reducing its capacity substantially due to safety issues.