The pop star, fresh off two Monumental shows, watched from a VIP box as Boca beat River 2–0 and tightened their grip on a Copa Libertadores place.
Dua Lipa spent Sunday inside La Bombonera. Two nights earlier, she’d played sold-out shows at River Plate’s El Monumental. Sunday, she sat in a VIP box with family and watched Boca thump their rivals 2–0.
She wore an Argentina national team jersey—diplomatically neutral for the occasion. Cameras caught her smiling, filming the chants, leaning into the noise.
Boca president Juan Román Riquelme stopped by during the match. He gave her personalized shirts, the kind of moment that gets replayed endlessly. Within hours, fans on both sides were arguing over who could claim her. Boca supporters pointed to the VIP box. River fans countered with her concert photo wearing their sash the night before.
Asked what struck her most about La Bombonera, she answered in Spanish: “Me encanta la energía, es perfecta la gente.” That’s the standard reaction when you’re inside that stadium for the first time and the stands start shaking.
On the pitch, Boca did what they needed to do. Exequiel Zeballos scored just before halftime off a defensive mistake. Two minutes into the second half, he tore through space and set up Miguel Merentiel to make it 2–0. Boca had a third ruled out for offside. A late penalty call got overturned on review. Didn’t matter—the game was already won.
The victory made it three league wins in a row and locked up a spot in next year’s Copa Libertadores group stage. For River, it was a sixth loss in seven matches. Their season is unraveling.
The celebrity angle writes itself. In 48 hours, Dua Lipa performed for River’s crowd, then cheered inside Boca’s stadium. The internet did its thing—lucky charm jokes, half-and-half jersey mockups, the usual derby banter. But the image that circulated most was simpler: a global star grinning in a stand that never stopped bouncing.
Boca fans flooded the streets. River’s walked home quietly. The club posted photos of Riquelme’s VIP box visit. Dua Lipa posted her own Buenos Aires highlights, mixing concert footage with match clips. Her tour moves on to the rest of South America this week, but Sunday’s clips will keep traveling.
In Buenos Aires, the venues change but the intensity doesn’t. One weekend, Dua Lipa saw both sides—the massive bowl of El Monumental from the stage, and the claustrophobic thunder of La Bombonera from the stands. The scoreboard settled what mattered most: Boca 2, River 0.
