Boca Juniors 2 Palmeiras 0: Benedetto the hero with late brace

A late brace from Dario Benedetto saw Boca Juniors beat Palmeiras 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores semifinal on Wednesday.

The Argentine giant struggled to create chances in front of its home fans at La Bombonera before Benedetto's late heroics.

Benedetto came off the bench to head in a late opener before firing in a tremendous effort from range to seal Boca's success.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's Palmeiras managed to frustrate the host for the most part, and Boca – which left Carlos Tevez on the bench – was reduced largely to efforts from distance.

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Arguably the best of those came in the 82nd minute, when Lucas Olaza forced a diving save from Weverton with a 30-yard free-kick.

And, the resulting corner would lead to the opener, Benedetto – introduced in the 77th minute – heading in Sebastian Villa's delivery.

Benedetto struck again five minutes later, brilliantly turning on the edge of the area before firing into the bottom corner to make it 2-0. Boca will carry its two-goal lead to Brazil for the second leg on October 31.