River wins a key match and widens its lead Marcelo Gallardo's team had a well-deserved win beating Platense 1-0 and is nine points clear of the runner-up. Julian Alvarez scored the winning goal.

  • Share

River was quick to set up a very clear scoring play in the opening minutes: Braian Romero received a pass on the left and struck a high cross beating the home team's defense and finding Robert Rojas by the second goalpost, whose header smashed against Luis Ojeda’s crossbar. In the next play, Platense pressed on the attack and Franco Armani was quick to come off his line and clear the ball.

Platense approached the goal again when Ivan Gomez caught a long cross, but Armani easily blocked the shot at the middle of the goal. El Millonario took the lead with a great goal: Julian Alvarez recovered the ball and passed it to Enzo Fernandez, who fantastically set him up to skillfully score by the second goalpost.

River could have scored another goal off clear shots by Romero (one smashed against the left post) and an excellent play by Agustin Palavecino, who dribbled his way into the box and struck a left-footed shot that was saved by Ojeda. Meanwhile, Platense almost evened the score with a diving header by Nicolas Bertolo, who failed to deflect a previous header.

Platense took advantage of a defensive lapse when River was clearing the ball, but Armani came off his line to block Matias Tissera’s low crossed shot. River’s No. 1 became one of the key figures and reacted well every time he was put to the test. After some issues in the defense and the Enzo Perez’s potential injury, Gallardo's team got on better footing and Fernandez almost scored the second goal thanks to a great shot from outside the box.

After a bad clearance by Platense, Julian surprisingly failed to score or set up Romero for a goal on a very clear opportunity to widen the lead. In another play, Ojeda blocked a left-footed shot by River’s No. 19 and another by Alvarez. Jorge Carrascal and Tomas Galvan came onto the field, changing the dynamic, and the Colombian No. 10 made good contributions in the attack.

El Mas Grande had good control of the game and won three key points: it is nine points clear of the runner-up while being four matchdays away from the end. On Thursday, River will welcome Racing at the Monumental Stadium.

Photo gallery

Related news

17/04/2024 River in Córdoba, great match and qualification
12/04/2024 River secures another win, topping the group
08/04/2024 River turns game around and celebrates at home
03/04/2024 River wins a resounding victory in Venezuela