River Plate today tied 1-1 with Argentinos Juniors at the Monumental stadium for the first leg of the round of 16 of the Liberators cup and left open the series that will be defined next Wednesday in La Paternal. The visit surprised the local team at the start of the game as a sample of what it could offer on the court.
He played in the rival field, while the ‘Millionaire’ tried to accommodate. Marcelo Gallardo’s team came out quickly from the siege that Argentinos proposed in attack with Suárez’s goal. The play began with a deep pass from the Chilean Paulo Díaz for the debutant Braian Romero who managed to uncheck him to leave the Cordovan facing the goal alone.
River strengthened with the advantage. Romero won in confidence to the concern of the visiting defense and monopolized the ball. The “Millionaire” had the chance to convert the second through Suarez, through a series of exact passes in a counter, but his definition, face to face with Lucas Chaves, was unsuccessful.
Argentinos regained prominence when Gabriel Florentín entered the scene. The midfielder made contact with the ball and released the team from the pressure of River. The final stretch of an intense first half was favorable to the visitor who reached the tie with two heads in the area; by Sandoval for Hauche that appeared unmarked.
River regretted that chance wasted by Suárez that could have given him greater peace of mind. In the second half, both lowered the intensity. Argentinos played more grouped in defense and River did not find the ways. The first minutes excited the eleven of Núñez with a greater presence of De La Cruz in the generation of the game.
A shot from Romero was the most dangerous for River, which – little by little – entered the web that Argentinos wove in defense. El Millonario sought to break the rival resistance with Jorge Carrascal, but did not succeed. Nor did he find solutions with the Fabrizio Angileri centers, since Miguel Torrén and Carlos Quintana got everything they proposed.
Argentinos did business with the tie. Gabriel Milito’s team knew how to overcome when River had him cornered and will also define the local series. River ended up blurred, without clarity and with some helplessness, after a very tough game. A custom of Milito’s teams every time he faces Gallardo: he won three, tied one and lost the rest
The match data
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