Despite being a friendly and with an emotional tint after the tribute that there was for Pablo Solari in the previous one and also the recognition for Gallardo, the match started frenetic from the zero minute: El Millonario managing the ball and timing, with Juanfer floating behind Borja and Solari in a 4-3-1-2, and Colo Colo betting on the counterattack in speed.
Quickly, River took the lead: good driving by Palavecino, Juanfer received only in the gestation area, transferred, opened for Borja and El Colibrí, with a remarkable category, first feinted to leave goalkeeper Cortés sitting down and then defined the near post. Colo Colo couldn’t even get comfortable and was already 0-2: pressure from Simón, another deluxe assist from Juanfer and Solari punctured her. The goal against his former club was sung and it happened quickly.
Gallardo’s men came out to play the friendly very seriously and didn’t lift their foot for a second. With the 2-0, the dominance became even more noticeable. With tenures not so long and associations in three quarters of the court, River easily messed up Colo Colo and constantly reached the rival area.
Incredibly and literally in the blink of an eye, the Chilean team equalized and turned it around in a four-minute burst! First a goal against Paulo Díaz, who instinctively put his foot into a low cross and the ball ended up in Centurión’s goal, a few moments later Amor connected (offside) a cross from a free kick and then Pavez pushed it in the penalty point, taking advantage of the general disorder of the Millo defense.
Fateful 15 minutes for River at the end of the first half and the same countenance as in the last official matches: a fearsome team from the middle forward and another completely different from the middle back, messy and with errors in location and defensive coverage.
For the second half, Gallardo made three changes and one of them was possibly the best news at the end of the year: the return of Robert Rojas after seven months in place of Herrera. González Pirez and Barco also entered for Paulo Díaz and Simón. And in the Sicario’s first, at 50 seconds, he collided with Lucero’s head, although fortunately nothing happened to him and it was just a scare.
Solari volleyed first and quickly Colo Colo’s response with a right hand from Pavez that crashed on the crossbar. Zero relaxation in both teams, which came out to the complement with the clear intention of scoring more goals and River quickly found the 3-3: counterattack that was born in a Centurión exit, Quintero had to define, he assisted Solari, he returned to to keep the rebound, he assisted again and El Pibe pushed her in the small area to equalize the actions again. Three perfect 10 assists.
In case you were missing something, a minute later he wreaked havoc behind the backs of Colo Colo’s flyers. He hooked, cleared out for Solari, precise cross from the winger and connection from Colibrí Borja, always intractable inside the area to score 4-3 and turn around a crazy game. River threw the hierarchy over the Chilean team and resolved in two plays. In the midst of the vibrant and changing procedure, Falcón was expelled and the locals were left with 10.
For the first time all night, the pace slowed down, both River and Colo Colo reduced the intensity and the game became rough and spicy and not so much from area to area. Gallardo sent Barco (he entered well), Suárez and Paradela a while later, so that everyone could add minutes, and the victory ended up being consummated.
Looking ahead, the certainty left by the meeting is that the renewal of Juan Fernando Quintero is essential for what is to come. The 10 was essential for the victory with three goal passes. When he was activated, Borja and Solari stocked up and did not forgive in front of the goal. In addition, the pleasant news of the return of Rojas and Peña Biafore (he entered with 5′ to go).
FORMATIONS
Colo Colo: Brayan Cortes; Emiliano Amor, Matías Zaldivia, Maximiliano Falcón; Óscar Opazo, Esteban Pavez, Vicente Pizarro, Gabriel Suazo, Marco Rojas; Marcos Bolados and Juan Martin Lucero. DT: Gustavo Quinteros.
River Plate: Ezekiel Centurion; Andrew Blacksmith, Emmanuel Mammana, Paul Diaz, Milton Helmet; James Simon, Bruno Zuculini, Augustin Palavecino, Juanfer Quintero; Pablo Solari and Miguel Borja. DT: Marcelo Gallardo.
MATCH DATA
Time: 19.30
Estadio: Sausalito
TV: STAR+ Platform
Referee: Robert Tobar
