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ESRiver draws in Chile in the first leg Marcelo Gallardo’s team drew 1-1 in the first leg of the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals. Germán Pezzella opened the scoring, and the home team equalized in the second half.
On a typical CONMEBOL Libertadores night, River opened the quarterfinals by dominating the early stages of the match. Miguel Borja was involved in two clear chances early on: a shot over the bar after a pass from Nacho Fernández and a feeble shot following an assist from Claudio Echeverri. Maxi Meza also had his chance with a wayward shot.
The home team countered with a run down the left side: Javier Correa set up Leonardo Gil, but Franco Armani stepped up to make a remarkable save on the midfielder’s attempt. In the next play, River had a clear-cut chance through Borja, but the Colombian struggled to get into position to beat Brayan Cortés.
At the end of the first half, following another great save by Armani on Correa’s header, Germán Pezzella stepped up to set the score at 1-0: a superb left-footed finish on a set piece, capping off a precise cross from Marcos Acuña.
As soon as the second half kicked off, Colo-Colo threatened with a clear header from Correa that went over the crossbar. Five minutes in, the home team equalized with a goal from Carlos Palacios. River stood firm and responded with a wayward right-footed shot from Santiago Simón from outside the box.
The closing minutes of the game were fiercely contested, with few chances on goal, except for Armani’s great save on Guillermo Paiva’s header in stoppage time. In addition, an incident occurred that led to Paulo Díaz and Maximiliano Falcón being sent off. This draw means that everything will be decided in the second leg next Tuesday at the Mâs Monumental stadium.
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