A masterful performance in Avellaneda River Plate had an unforgettable night facing Racing: River thrashed Racing 6-1, with great individual and collective performances, and claimed all three points in the Superleague again.

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El Millionario had a better start and was the first one to threaten, by means of a shot by Matías Suárez which was blocked by Gabriel Arias. However, after a failed attempt to clear the ball, Racing scored 1-0, after a shot by Augusto Solari towards Franco Armani’s right goalpost. River responded and warned Racing with shots by Nacho Fernández (Arias saved them) and a good play between Gonzalo Montiel and Suárez which lacked clarity at the end.

Nicolás De La Cruz got involved in a one-on-one with some difficulty and couldn’t shoot comfortably to even the score. But everything changed in the span of three minutes: first, Rafael Borré made good use of an excellent assist by Exequiel Palacios and defined the play sublimely to even the score and bring some justice to the scoreboard in Avellaneda.

Immediately, Palacios appeared again to make a precise pass to Suárez, who kicked towards the centre and found Borré alone: the Colombian scored twice and el Millionario was winning. The third goal was scored after a precise pass by De La Cruz and a run by Suárez on the right: he couldn’t be stopped and player no. 7 scored a tremendous low and crossed right-footed shot scoring 3-1.

River was still the protagonist at the beginning of the second half, a role expanded even more after Leonardo Sigali was expelled due to a serious infraction on Suárez. The fourth one was on De La Cruz’s feet, but the Uruguayan couldn’t shoot accurately. However, after an infraction on Nacho Fernández in the area, player no. 26 took charge of the penalty and set the score 4-1.

But River didn’t stop and went for more: Lucas Pratto was already on the playing field and assisted De La Cruz to score 5-1; then, Ignacio Scocco, who returned after being inactive, scored a beautiful header after a good centering pass by De La Cruz, scoring 6-1 and deciding the match, even though there were more clear opportunities, such as a powerful shot by Pratto and a header by Nacho Fernández.

River’s next match will be next Thursday, at the Monumental Stadium, for the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarter-finals first leg.

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