River tried from all angles, but drew in Sarandí Marcelo Gallardo’s team was superior and brought about several goal situations, but couldn’t turn them into goals and drew 0-0 against Arsenal.

  • Share

As it tends to happen in practically all matches, River started playing on the rival’s half of the field and made some runs up from the sides, where the team could count on Gonzalo Montiel and Fabrizio Angileri. Agustín Palavecino had the first chance, but his shot deflected wide. Then, Nicolás De La Cruz had his chance by means of a crossed shot from the left side. Both wide players also ran up the field: a cross from Angileri and a header by Montiel that went over the crossbar.

When Arsenal attacked, Franco Armani responded well and was quick to block a cross. Then, Matías Suárez fired a header that narrowly missed the goal and Palavecino wasn’t able to score over Alejandro Medina after a series of rebounds. At the end of the first half, River’s No. 1 was quick to block a low shot by Jhonatan Candia. In stoppage time, the home keeper blocked a shot from Montiel after a run up the left side.

In the second half, the home team played more accurately during the first minutes. Candia almost opened the scoring thanks to a free kick, but el Millonario was superior for the rest of the match, deserving the lead. After a combination play between Suárez and Palavecino, the midfielder fired a high shot. Then, there was a good collective play between Federico Girotti, Jorge Carrascal, and Suárez. On another opportunity, the Colombian player made a good run up the right side, entered the area, and fired a right-footed shot that narrowly missed Medina’s near post.

Carrascal kept trying and fired a dangerous shot aimed at the middle of the goal. One of the clearest opportunities was at the feet of Girotti: he fired a good volley shot off an overlapping run by Angileri, but the ball went just wide past Arsenal’s keeper’s right angle. Then, De La Cruz tried from outside the area and, in the last play, Agustín Fontana was not able to fire comfortably after an assist by Carrascal.

On Wednesday, River will play against its next rival, Atlético Tucumán, in La Plata, for the Argentine Cup. Then, for the League Cup, it will welcome Santa Fe’s Colón on Sunday, April 11th, at the Monumental Stadium.