EN
ESGreat victory for River in Chile Marcelo Gallardo’s team beat Colo-Colo 2-1 and claimed three points that are key to River’s qualification for the CONMEBOL Libertadores Round of 16. Suarez and Barco were the goal scorers in Santiago.
The beginning of the match was very dynamic, with both teams quickly running up the field and pressing each other. River had the first scoring chances. Santiago Simon tapped the ball to Esequiel Barco, who struck a long-range shot. Then, Julian Alvarez received the ball after a good plan on the left-hand side, and Simon struck a shot that deflected off a local defender. In another play, on the right-hand side, Andres Herrera made an overlapping pass, Enzo Fernandez decided to let it pass him by, and Julian failed to strike a powerful on-target shot.
Following River Plate’s domination, Colo-Colo had a chance with a solo play set by Pablo Solari, culminating in a shot from the right-hand side, that Franco Armani saved on his left post. River kept trying and Barco had another chance, but he failed to turn it into a goal. Both teams had one more chance before the end of the first half: Armani reacted well to a dangerous cross from Solari, while Barco failed to send his shot over Omar Carabali, off an exquisite long-range pass from Nicolas De La Cruz.
In the second half, Colo-Colo was off to a better start and dominated in the opening minutes, even though it failed to threaten River’s goal, aside from a low cross by Solari from the right-hand side. River responded with a shot by De La Cruz from outside the box, following a series of rebounds, and had a chance at Paulo Diaz’s feet off a corner kick. On a set piece, Maximiliano Falcon won the header in the box, but Armani reacted confidently to make another save.
Gallardo's team had a very clear chance when Fernandez scooped a header off an on-target cross from Matias Suarez. The match was a lot more even and River had another scoring chance: Barco fainted his way up the right-hand side and made an overlapping pass that was headed by David Martinez. However, the home keeper was in the right position to save it.
In the closing minutes, Paulo Diaz recovered the ball, opened up a pass to Herrera, and Carabali failed to save the defender's cross: Suarez was paying careful attention and was quick to struck a shot into the empty net and set the score at 1-0 for River, in Santiago. In the end, Barco had the chance to celebrate his own goal after sending a spectacular shot into the keeper’s left corner. In stoppage time, Juan Lucero reduced the deficit with a header.
Thanks to this win, River is now the only group leader with 9 points and is in a position to qualify for the next round of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. The team will play another match on Saturday, against Sarmiento in Junin, on Matchday 13 of the League Cup.
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