River ultimately drew in Barranquilla Marcelo Gallardo's team was eagerly playing to win against Junior and, in stoppage time, set the score at 1-1 thanks to a header by Paulo Díaz.

  • Share

Adopting a different tactical approach to the one taken in the latest matches, River tried to control the ball since the beginning of the match in Barranquilla, even though Junior had several shots on goal. In the first shot on goal, Miguel Borja couldn’t beat Franco Armani and River responded with a high shot off a good open pass from Julián Álvarez.

El Millonario made another penetrating run and the ball was left to Zuculini, at the semi-circle of the box, but he couldn’t get comfortable to kick it. Then, after a long pass, Borja ran, jostled with Robert Rojas, and went one-on-one with the keeper, firing a low shot and setting the score at 1-0. During the rest of the first half, River couldn’t connect in the attack to create dangerous plays, but it made some penetrating runs up the right side of the field.

Right at the beginning of the second half, the home team had two scoring chances thanks to Borja, whose shot was cleared by Paulo Díaz down on the ground, and Edwuin Cetré, who fired a long-range shot. Meanwhile, River responded with a shot on goal by Zuculini, who stumbled upon the ball after a header by Agustín Fontana, but Sebastián Viera made a brilliant save. On another opportunity, Zuculini blocked a pass, recovered the ball, and made a long pass to Matías Suárez, who ran up the right side and fired a cross that missed Rafael Borré.

Halfway into the second half, el Millonario pressed up the field and the match continued on Junior’s side of the field. Nonetheless, River found it difficult to press Junior and create dangerous plays. From outside the box, Milton Casco fired a left-footed shot off a free kick by Fabrizio Angileri that bounced off the wall. Toward the end, Jorge Carrascal fired a shot from outside the box that went wide off Viera’s right goalpost.

In stoppage time, Díaz won the ball off a corner kick and crossed a header, setting the score at 1-1. Thus, River ranks second in Group D, accruing six units. Regarding the CONMEBOL Libertadores Cup, River will welcome Santa Fe next Wednesday. On Sunday, it will play against Boca Juniors in the League Cup quarter-finals.

Photo gallery

Related news

01/09/2025 River wins convincingly and stays on top
29/08/2025 With a brilliant Armani, River advances on penalties
26/08/2025 River let it slip at the end
21/08/2025 River beats Libertad to advance to quarterfinals