River: irregular and predictable, the defects of a team that does not define how Marcelo Gallardo wants

Foreseeable. River began the Professional League being predictable. And it is a clear symptom of the irregularity that was repeated throughout the year and that prevented it from sustaining over time the good returns that it has been able to show. Within that equation, the rivals of the team of Marcelo Gallardo they understand quickly and easily how to neutralize or minimize it. They no longer need perfect nights to steal points from you. On Saturday night, Atlético Tucumán confirmed it in another apathetic 0-0 draw for the second date in which there were plenty of passes and kilometers traveled and a lack of surprise and ingenuity. It is an alarm that begins to sound in Núñez.

River accumulated two games without scoring goals for the first time in 2022. And they drew 0-0 again in a row after more than a year: the last time had been between March and April 2021 against Racing and Arsenal. In the midst of the search for attackers in a difficult transfer market whose priorities are Luis Suarez, Miguel Borja and Diego Valoyesnot even the return of Julian Alvarez It allowed the Millionaire to have that scoring spark to win the game.

It is that, beyond the returns of Franco Armani and Álvarez himself, Gallardo still could not count on Paulo Diaz, David Martinez and Nicolas De La Cruz by the FIFA Date and was also not available to Milton Casco, Matias Suarez and Juanfer Quintero for injuries. Without those cards that usually offer positive returns, River again felt the lack of his usual structure. Beyond the fact that he created situations and was able to win the game in the final stretch, he did not have that classic greed with which he usually wins by demolition.

Without going any further, in the first half he only had two interrupted scoring chances. First, with a shot of Essekiel Ship at the start of the game. And then, with the appearance in the area of Enzo Fernández after a great pass from Julián Álvarez. But in both the figure of the experienced Bolivian goalkeeper Carlos Lampe appeared to show off with important saves in his debut in the Tucuman goal.

Beyond those two arrivals, the Millionaire rounded off a weak first half. He was awkward, disjointed and imprecise. It was difficult for him to develop game circuits and break that defensive block of a compact and short Atlético that was in charge of covering, populating and closing the internal zones well and forcing his rival to open up and look more outside than inside. Gallardo’s team suffered from this position and could not count on the necessary creativity to unlock a classic close, rough and difficult match at the Monumental. Because furthermore, when he could overflow or find the hole for the deployment of its laterals Andrés Herrera and Elías Gómez, neither was fine for the completion of the play.

And in that game Lucas Pusineri’s team felt safe. Not only because he was never overwhelmed, but because he was also able to find dangerous options with his classic long game. At the beginning, Joaquín Pereyra surprised Armani with an unexpected shot from his own half that stopped at the roof of the arch and, at the end of the first part, Carrera he demanded the goalkeeper with another shot from medium distance. Given the shallow depth of the venue, the Dean was never surprised in the first 45 minutes.

It is that, as it happened against Defense and Justice in the goalless debut in Florencio Varela, The Muñeco team lacked aggressiveness. Although he dominated the ball, he was at a different pace, far from that offensive frenzy that he can and knows how to show. Added to that, in the second half the figure of Lampe began to grow even more in an increasingly refugee Atlético. Already in the first five minutes he drowned Elías Gómez’s celebration twice in two different centers: neither with his head nor with a left-footed pirouette could he beat the goalkeeper. And he managed to hurt by the surprising appearance of the left back as another striker. A rare image within a predictable team and with clear references for the rival.

In an adverse context, and with the lines increasingly advanced, Gallardo made Jose Paradela and Thomas Pochettino replacing Barco and Palavecino. And the changes had an effect because River adjusted positions, showed a different attitude, handled the ball better and found other ways with different scoring chances, although without lucidity or precision in the area to be able to defeat Lampe.

Finally, with ten minutes to go, Braian Romero came on for Simón. But he couldn’t break the zero either. The tie exposed the irregularity that Gallardo has mentioned so much and once again highlighted the need to reinforce an attack that, when it loses Julián, will really make sense.