RIO DE JANEIRO (Interstat) — Boca Juniors scored twice before halftime and added a late goal to beat Vasco 3-1 on Tuesday, answering the home side’s second-half push and securing its first win in the competition after a loss in the teams’ most recent meeting. The visitors led from the fourth minute and never surrendered the advantage, though Vasco cut the deficit to one goal midway through the second half.

Lautaro Di Lollo gave Boca Juniors the lead in the 4th minute, finishing a move that set the visitors in front early. Di Lollo played the full match and finished with one goal. Miguel Merentiel doubled the advantage in the 34th minute, scoring before he was substituted in the 77th minute. Merentiel finished with one goal in 77 minutes. Boca Juniors held the 2-0 lead into halftime, though the first half also included yellow cards for Leandro Paredes of Boca Juniors in the 37th minute and Thiago Mendes of Vasco in the 40th minute. Paredes’ booking came after the second goal and before the break, while Mendes was cautioned three minutes later.

Vasco changed its shape after halftime, making substitutions in the 46th minute when David and Adson entered. Vasco made another change in the 56th minute when Paulo Henrique came on. J. Rodriguez pulled Vasco back into the match in the 66th minute, scoring in a 34-minute appearance. Boca Juniors made a substitution in the 57th minute with Battaglia R., then made two changes in the 77th minute when Flores L. entered and Merentiel departed. Vasco’s final substitution came in the 90th minute with Lescano A.

Leandro Paredes restored Boca Juniors’ two-goal cushion in the 88th minute, scoring in a 33-minute outing that also included his first-half yellow card. Boca Juniors replaced Villa S. in the 90th minute of stoppage time. Velasco A. also was booked for Boca Juniors in the 90th minute of stoppage time. The late goal ended Vasco’s comeback attempt after Rodriguez had made it 2-1. Boca Juniors then saw out the closing minutes.

Lautaro Blanco, Milton Delgado and Sebastian Villa each played 90 minutes and recorded an assist for Boca Juniors. Di Lollo’s early goal set the tone, Merentiel’s first-half strike doubled the visitors’ advantage, and Paredes’ late finish closed out the result after Rodriguez had given Vasco hope. Rodriguez’s goal was the only scoring response for the home side. Blanco, Delgado and Villa were listed among Boca Juniors’ key contributors on the night, while Paredes scored and was booked in his 33-minute appearance.

Boca Juniors is now 1-1 in the competition and 4-1-1 across all competitions. Vasco is 1-1 in the competition and 1-2-1 overall. Boca Juniors’ previous results this season included a 2-1 win over Talleres Cordoba, a 1-0 loss at Vasco, a 2-2 draw at Instituto, a 3-0 win over Union de Santa Fe and a 3-2 win at Racing Club. Vasco’s previous results included a 1-0 loss at Sao Paulo, a 1-0 win at Boca Juniors and a 0-0 draw with Remo. The most recent head-to-head meeting before Tuesday was Vasco’s 1-0 win at Boca Juniors. Boca Juniors’ victory on Tuesday followed its 2-1 home win over Talleres Cordoba, while Vasco entered after a 1-0 loss at Sao Paulo.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Vasco 1, Boca Juniors 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Boca Juniors with a 76.1 percent probability to win. Vasco had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.25. The total score of 4 went under the over/under line of 1.75.