| Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores 2018 | |
|---|---|
La Bombonera in Buenos Aires (top) and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid (bottom), venues for the final | |
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | 22 January – 9 December 2018 |
| Teams | 47 (from 10 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  River Plate (4th title) |
| Runners-up | Boca Juniors |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 156 |
| Goals scored | 353 (2.26 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Miguel Borja Wilson Morelo(9 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Gonzalo Martínez |
← 2017 2019 → | |
The 2018 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 59th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the Copa Libertadores), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
River Plate defeated Boca Juniors in the finals by an aggregate score of 5–3 to win their fourth tournament title.[1] As champions, they qualified as the CONMEBOL representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018 Copa Sudamericana in the 2019 Recopa Sudamericana.[2] They also automatically qualified for the 2019 Copa Libertadores group stage. Grêmio were the defending champions, but were defeated by River Plate in the semifinals.
The first leg of the final was played at the Estadio Alberto J. Armando in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 11 November 2018, while the second leg took place outside South America at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain (a neutral venue) on 9 December 2018.[3][4] The New York Times reported that the second leg was referred to as the "Final to End All Finals" and the biggest game in Argentine sport history but it was postponed and moved due to violence against the Boca Juniors team.[5]
- ^ "¡River Plate campeón!". CONMEBOL.com. 9 December 2018.
- ^ "Reglamento CONMEBOL Libertadores 2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
- ^ "Las finales de la CONMEBOL Libertadores se disputarán el 10 y 24 de noviembre". CONMEBOL.com. 1 November 2018.
- ^ "Confirmados los horarios y fechas de los partidos finales de la CONMEBOL Libertadores 2018". CONMEBOL.com. 5 November 2018.
- ^ In a Transplanted Final, Even the Copa Libertadores Is Sanitized, New York Times, December 9, 2018