River was defeated in Mendoza

At the beginning of the match, River was unable to control the ball and Godoy Cruz took the reins. Tomas Badaloni made the initial penetrating runs: First, he put Jonatan Maidana to the test and, later, his shot went high after he had controlled the ball in front of the goal. El Millonario counterattacked with a deflected shot by Federico Girotti off a pass from Julian Alvarez, but the home team took the lead after Martin Ojeda scored a penalty.

Afterward, Gallardo’s team created some clear scoring situations: Juan Espinola reacted well to a shot from Alvarez; then, Benjamin Rollheiser failed to deflect a header by Maidana. On another set piece, after a header by Javier Pinola, Girotti and Alvarez failed to put a shot inside the far post. River's last attack in the first half was a long-range shot by Agustin Palavecino.

The second half got off to a rocky start. First, Alvarez saved River from a bigger deficit during a corner kick for Godoy Cruz and evened the score in the following play: coming from outside the box, Alvarez moved toward the center and struck a low left-footed shot into Espinola’s bottom left corner. Afterward, he fired a similar shot, with his right foot, but it was caught by the keeper.

River kept going for the second goal, and was close to scoring it in a counterattacking play, which led to Palavecino catching a rebound and firing an inaccurate shot. He had another clear opportunity, but failed to aim his left-footed shot at the goal after a feint on the edge of the box. Regarding the defense, Armani reacted excellently to a crossed shot by Ezequiel Bullaude. Despite being in control, River was losing again by one goal, after Ojeda set the score at 2-1.

Alvarez almost evened the score, when he took a free kick on the right side that went toward the far post, but Espinola deflected it for a corner kick. River kept trying until the end, but Godoy Cruz defended well and made sure to keep the lead, preventing el Millonario from adding points in Mendoza

River’s next match will be on Wednesday, at the Monumental Stadium, against Atletico Mineiro on the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals. Furthermore, on Matchday 6 of the local tournament, River will play as home team against Velez on Saturday.

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