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* Boca Juniors coach Miguel Angel Russo defended his decision to take off midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme during the weekend's 2-2 draw at home to Racing Club, saying he was thinking about the Libertadores Cup tie against Velez Sarsfield.

Boca, four points behind Argentine Clausura championship leaders San Lorenzo, were 2-1 ahead when Riquelme, who scored their first goal and hit the crossbar, went off.

"We're playing again on Wednesday and we had to think about this. It was my decision on the basis that Boca were winning," Russo told reporters. "We did a lot of things right and could have finished the game in another way."

Reuters