With the unpleasant news of the coronavirus infections that they accused Franco Armani, Javier Pinola and Thomas Pochettino and two collaborators from the coaching staff, River will receive this Thursday from 21 to Colo Colo from Chile in a Monumental stadium once again full and with virtually assured classification to the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores. Marcelo Gallardo’s team leads group F with ten points and a draw will put him out of reach of Fortaleza of Brazil, for now the third in the area, which at the close of this edition faced Alianza Lima in Peru.
Ezequiel Centurion will once again replace Armani in the arc as he did in the last game of the group stage of the local tournament against Platense, while SAntiago Simón will go for Pochettino. In the bench of substitutes, the Colombian Juan Fernando Quintero will not reappear, who on Tuesday suffered from the tear he had suffered in the left hamstring, nor will Cristian Ferreira, who suffered muscle discomfort the same day. The rest of the team will be the same one that lost to Tigre in the League Cup quarterfinals.
That was an unexpected blow for River. And furthermore, he opened up questions that no one had asked in the millionaire environment. To such an extent that more than one wonders if, for the round of 16 of the Cup, it will not be necessary to make a significant financial effort and strengthen the squad more than what was done in the summer pass book. For now, The only thing that is known is that a center forward will be found to replace Julián Alvarez, who will play his penultimate match at the club against Colo Colo. After next week’s clash against Alianza Lima, Alvarez will leave the squad to join Manchester City in early July.
Beyond the fact that a tie will seal the classification, River will go out with everything to wash his face in front of his public after the bad night against Tigre. But the commitment will not be easy. Despite losing 2-1 just at the end, Colo-Colo showed that it is a brave team that will try to close in the background with the idea of taking at least one tie that puts him close to achieving the pass to the second round. On the last date, the Chileans will host Fortaleza and a good result (that is, not losing) at the Monumental will be a strong boost to advance to the next round.
That decisive match will be played in Santiago next Wednesday the 25th behind closed doors, for the disorders caused by the Colocolino fans before, during and after the meeting with River. Many wanted to enter without their ticket and there were some clashes with the police and at the end of the meeting, they threw projectiles at the exit of the River players. For this Thursday’s game, the Chileans sold out the 2,000 general tickets that River put at their disposal.
