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ESRiver knocked out in penalties Following an agonizing draw in the aggregate score thanks to Robert Rojas's goal, River lost the penalty shootout 9-8.
On a Libertadores evening in Porto Alegre, River and Inter were off to an intense start. River’s Esequiel Barco, Pablo Solari and Lucas Beltrán tried to come together in the attack, while the home team tried to threaten the rival goal, with Wanderson running upfield and Enner Valencia taking shots on goal. The first scoring chances were a deflected header from Vitão and a right-footed shot from Barco that went high, after a quick penetrating run.
After the 20th minute, Inter had greater game control but was prevented from scoring by Franco Armani. After a missed one-on-one by Alan Patrick, River’s No. 1 made a low save on a right-footed shot from Valencia and then, blocked another shot from him after a series of rebounds. Solari had his chance, making a quick run off a pass from Nicolás De La Cruz, but he failed to score. On the last play, Beltrán failed to collect a quick free kick from Nacho Fernández on the left wing and missed the chance to score.
Inter started the second half pressing upfield, but River was able to handle it. Around the 60th minute mark, Beltrán even made a quick run after a combination play with Solari, but couldn’t position himself well in the box to score. After a goal from the home team was correctly disallowed for offside, Nacho had his chance off a set piece clearance, but his left-footed shot went high.
With 20 minutes left to play, Gabriel Mercado scored a header off a corner kick and set the score at 1-0 for the home team. After another penetrating run, Alan Patrick set the score at 2-0 with a free kick from the left corner of the box. In stoppage time, Robert Rojas capitalized on a corner kick taken by Agustín Palavecino and set the score at 2-1, paving the way for the penalty shootout.
Inter qualified for the quarter-finals after winning a long penalty shootout 9-8.
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