River ended its participation in the Diego Maradona Cup Marcelo Gallardo’s team was not able to qualify for the tournament final, after losing 2-0 to Independiente at Banfield's stadium.

  • Share

In the last match of the Diego Maradona Cup's Championship stage, River welcomed Independiente at Banfield’s stadium. Franco Armani was the protagonist of the first play, reacting excellently to an individual move and a crossed shot by Alan Velasco. El Millionario responded with two scoring attempts in a row by Rafael Borré and Bruno Zuculini, but Sebastián Sosa blocked both shots.

Nonetheless, the away team took the lead thanks to a nice goal by Velasco and, then, River found it difficult to make threatening plays. In a nice run up the center of the field, Alexander Barboza tackled Jorge Carrascal in the area; in the following play, Velasco fired from afar and the ball bounced off Armani, scoring the second goal.

River had a much better start in the second half and dominated the match. It had very clear opportunities to score, such as a goal line clearance by Fabricio Bustos after a touch by Borré, a free kick by Nacho Fernández, an offensive advance by Paulo Díaz, and a good play between Carrascal and Matías Suárez.

Besides, River’s no. 10 smashed Sosa’s right goalpost and the Uruguayan goalkeeper blocked a shot off a one-on-one with Cristian Ferreira towards the end of the match. Now, el Millionario will visit Palmeiras on Tuesday, in Brazil, hoping to reverse the first-leg result and qualify for the CONMEBOL Libertadores Cup final.

Photo gallery

Related news

17/04/2024 River in Córdoba, great match and qualification
12/04/2024 River secures another win, topping the group
08/04/2024 River turns game around and celebrates at home
03/04/2024 River wins a resounding victory in Venezuela