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ESRiver fails to turn match around in Round of 16 In a match full of controversy due to a goal disallowed by VAR, Marcelo Gallardo's team evened 0-0 against Velez and failed to move on to the next round.
Before the 3rd minute, River had an unbeatable chance to take the lead: after a good combination play in the attack, Rodrigo Aliendro set up Braian Romero for a goal, who stood firm in the box and struck the ball when Lucas Hoyos came off his line, but his shot went just wide of the rival's left goalpost. Velez counterattacked with two shots from Walter Bou and Lucas Janson, but Franco Armani reacted well to saving both of them,
Although River dominated most of the first half, the team found it hard to set up dangerous plays. Meanwhile, Velez sat deep and tried to counterattack. Velez had another scoring chance at Luca Orellano’s feet, but his shot deflected. River tried to score from all sides and threatened Velez with a high crossed header from Enzo Fernandez, off a pass from the right-hand side.
At the beginning of the second half, Julian Alvarez had the first chance off a quick run up the field, but his shot was blocked when he was facing the goal. The away team threatened River’s goal again when Bou ran up the field off a throw-in, but his shot was saved by Armani. River leveled up its game when Matias Suarez and Juan Quintero came onto the field: player No. 7 made his way up the side and found Nicolas De La Cruz, who struck a right-footed shot that deflected off the near post.
With the whole team on the attack, Velez had a very clear chance at Abiel Osorio's feet, but Armani won the one-on-one. River evened the score with a header from Suarez, off a cross from Esequiel Barco. However, Tobar disallowed it due to an alleged handball. After that controversial play, el Millonario was not able to get back into the game in the remaining minutes. There was another controversial instance when Diego Godin elbowed Lucas Beltran in the box and the referee didn’t check it.
River was not able to turn the 1-0 result of the first leg and failed to move on to the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals. River's next match will be on Sunday, at the Mâs Monumental Stadium, against Godoy Cruz, for the local championship.
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