River had a goal fest and made it to the semifinals Marcelo Gallardo's team thrashed Nacional 6-2 (8-2 in total) and made it once more to this stage of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Cup.

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After an approach by Nacional’s Emiliano Martínez, with a shot from outside the box that Franco Armani managed to deflect with his hand, el Millionario took over. With Gonzalo Montiel’s runs up the field and Jorge Carrascal’s quality, River began to threaten Sergio Rochet’s goal: first, with a center pass from the side off which the Colombian player was not able to fire accurately and, then, with a high shot by Nicolás De La Cruz.

The gap between both teams grew even wider when the home team’s goalkeeper was rightly dismissed, after a studs-up tackle on Matías Suárez. Rafael Borré was not able to connect after a center pass from Carrascal and then the talented Colombian set the score at 1-0 with a work of art: a feint and a right-footed shot to Luis Mejía’s left angle.

River kept insisting and could have widened the lead with an individual play by Suárez. However, the second goal was scored towards the end, through a nice right-footed shot by De La Cruz. Before the half-time, Nacional reduced the deficit thanks to Ayrton Cougo, who fired a low shot when Armani came off his line.

At the beginning of the second half, River scored early on. First, it threatened the goal with an approach by Gonzalo Montiel and, then, celebrated the third goal, scored by Bruno Zuculini, who fired off a pass coming from behind, after a long center pass. Rafael Borré was close to scoring the fourth goal, but Mejía’s right goalpost prevented him from doing it. Nacional got one goal back with a nice shot by Santiago Rodríguez, who had come onto the field a few instants before.

There were a lot of comings and goings. De La Cruz took over a free kick that almost became the fourth goal, but the goalkeeper flew and saved it. Then, Agustín Oliveros took control of the ball on River’s half and fired a header that hit Armani's right goalpost and the goalkeeper reacted and cleared the goal.

Finally, Borré was able to turn his luck around and set the score at 4-2. The Colombian player took advantage of a good pass from Montiel and, with a free goal, became the top scorer of Marcelo Gallardo's era in River, with 42 goals celebrated. Immediately after that, Carrascal caught the ball in the box and was close to scoring the fifth goal. River’s fifth goal finally came at the feet of Borré, after Nacional neglected its defense and Montiel made him a clear pass. Not to be outdone, Borré also scored the sixth goal, after an assist by Montiel as well.

El Millionario will now play the semifinals (for the fourth consecutive time) against Palmeiras. The series will take place next year: the first leg will take place in Buenos Aires and the second one, in Brazil.

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