Boca Juniors went into the final day needing a win to clinch the 2026 Annual Table championship while Rosario Central was winning its own match, and Enner Valencia delivered in the 95th minute, scoring the only goal of a 1-0 victory over Defensa y Justicia at La Bombonera on Nov. 7, 2026, newsdigitales.com reported.
The decisive play began on the left with a long cross from Lautaro Blanco that Defensa y Justicia goalkeeper Matías Borgogno failed to hold, allowing Lautaro Di Lollo to head the ball loose; Valencia then struck the rebound first-time into the net, and the referee ended the match a minute later, lanacion.com.ar reported. Rosario Central had already beaten Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 2-0, so Boca needed the goal to stay ahead.
Valencia, 37, joined Boca in August as a free agent from Pachuca and signed a contract through Dec. 31, 2027, newsdigitales.com reported. He had already scored a hat-trick against Racing in the Copa Argentina quarterfinals earlier in the season.
Boca edges Rosario Central by one point at 63
Boca finished the Annual Table with 63 points, one ahead of Rosario Central, lanacion.com.ar reported. Argentinos Juniors, which had been level on points with Boca before the final round, lost 2-0 to Huracán. The title is Boca’s first since March 2023, when the club beat Patronato 3-0 in the Supercopa Argentina, lanacion.com.ar noted.
Incredible scenes! Boca win the title with the last kick of the game Enner Valencia scrambles it home for the win over Defensa y Justicia just as it looked as though it had slipped away pic.twitter.com/ShK1A91qgt
The goal came after a tense afternoon for both sides
Defensa y Justicia created chances in the first half, including a one-on-one for Gutiérrez that Boca goalkeeper Álvaro Montero saved and two headers from Martínez, one of which hit the crossbar, vistazo.com reported. Borgogno was busy for the visitors, blocking a Di Lollo header early in the second half and shots from Sebastián Villa and Tomás Aranda, lanacion.com.ar reported. Facundo Herrera had two close-range chances for Boca before Valencia settled the match. vistazo.com noted that Valencia entered as a second-half substitute to add attacking presence.
Valencia’s record with Ecuador and at club level
Valencia is Ecuador’s all-time leading scorer with 49 goals in 109 appearances and its top World Cup scorer with six goals, having played at the 2014, 2022 and 2026 tournaments, newsdigitales.com reported. He scored the opening goal of the 2022 World Cup from a penalty against Qatar and netted against Argentina in Guayaquil in 2025. After Ecuador’s Round of 16 elimination by Mexico at the 2026 World Cup, he announced his retirement from the national team. Across more than 690 club matches he has scored about 235 goals, including spells with Emelec, Pachuca, West Ham, Everton, Tigres, Fenerbahçe, Internacional and a return to Pachuca before joining Boca. He was the top scorer of Mexico’s Clausura 2014 with Pachuca and of Turkey’s Süper Lig in 2022-23 with Fenerbahçe, netting 29 goals.
What fans still want to know about the title-clinching goal
In the 50th minute of the second half, effectively stoppage time, newsdigitales.com reported.
Through Dec. 31, 2027, after arriving as a free agent from Pachuca in August 2026, newsdigitales.com reported.
Valencia’s goal capped a season in which he arrived as Boca’s fourth signing of the market and delivered the club’s first trophy since March 2023.
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