Boca Juniors secure first win of season with 2-1 victory over Huracan

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BUENOS AIRES, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Boca Juniors secured their first win of the Argentine Primera Division's Apertura season with a 2-1 home victory over Huracan thanks to a Carlos Palacios strike.

Coming off draws against Argentinos Juniors and Union, Boca put in a strong first-half performance, with Edinson Cavani opening the scoring in the 19th minute with a free-kick through the centre of the wall that took a deflection before finding the back of Hernan Galindez's net.

The visitors levelled on the half-hour mark when Marco Pellegrino's header found the back of the net, though they had to wait for a VAR review to rule out suspected obstruction.

In the second half, the hosts pushed to regain the lead and it was Miguel Merentiel who broke through to set up Palacios for the winner on 68 minutes.

"Even though I'm Chilean, every player would love to play here and score a goal like that in the Bombonera (stadium)," Palacios said after the match.

"That's why I celebrated like 'Topo Gigio', a compliment to (Juan Roman) Riquelme, because that's how I saw him celebrate here. So it was a natural thing to do and he congratulated me."

Former Argentina international and current Boca president Riquelme used to celebrate scoring a goal by cupping his hands next to his ears to mimic big-eared cartoon mouse Topo Gigio.

The gesture became more widely known after Lionel Messi celebrated similarly in his side's victory over the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Sunday's victory lifted Fernando Gago's side into fourth place in Group A. They next face Racing Club on Saturday. (Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Sonali Paul and Christopher Cushing)