Carlos Tevez headbutted as Boca and River clash with five men sent off

A friendly in name only, Saturday's fierce encounter between eternal rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate saw five men sent off as the game descended into utter chaos.

Boca, who also had two players dismissed at Racing Club in a 4-2 defeat in midweek, ended the River clash with just eight men on the field as defensive trio Jonathan Silva, Gino Peruzzi and Daniel Diaz all saw red.

River fared slightly better, managing to only just two of their outfield detail in the shape of Jonathan Maidana, who was dismissed for a headbutt on Carlos Tevez -- the incident sparking a mass, multi-man brawl that delayed the game for several minutes.

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Having scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 19th minute, striker Leonardo Pisculichi became the fifth and final player to be shown a red card for his part in the melee.

Indeed, by the time the final whistle sounded the referee had blown for a total of 40 fouls and booked a further nine players.

Again, this was supposed to be a friendly!