River it doesn’t seem River. River does not seem like a team Marcelo Gallardo. A few weeks ago, he said goodbye in the semifinals to the Libertadores that he had been served on a plate and that obsessed him. Now he wasted a great chance to join the fight for the league title. And on top of that, his nightmare was a former Boca, the Colombian Sebastian Villa…
Velezthe leader, had already tied. River visited Independiente Rivadavia, one of the worst teams in the championship, knowing that if they won they would be 5 units behind the leader with 12 to play. It was an unbeatable opportunity to get close and threaten with his giant badge. However, the millionaires rounded out a poor game, especially in the second half, and ended up losing it when it was dying, in the 99th minute.
Villa was unstoppable for Riverr. He imposed his speed at all times. He shouted his opening goal, hooking from the left towards the middle and resolving to a corner. Near the end of the first half, he tied it Facundo Colidio.
So he figured that River He would appeal to his hierarchy to win it in the second half, but in the search he left unusual spaces behind and did not lose by more goals due to several great saves by Franco Armani. Until in additional time, Villa once again overwhelmed Federico Gattoni and he put the center back ideal for Ezequiel Ham to cross it, next to a post.
The game immediately ended and a riot arose. Apparently, Villa’s celebration was near River’s substitute bench. The millionaire players reacted, especially Pity Martínez and Leandro González Pirez. There were pushes and slaps on the field and also in the locker room anteroom. In the end, a very hot ending.
Afterwards, the press conference of Marcelo Gallardobalanced to highlight that “nothing justifies the reaction” in the tumult at the end and to be self-critical of his team’s production: “Nothing came out and we couldn’t play as we wanted. When these things happen, you have to be realistic and you have to face it. There are 4 games left to play. These matches set issues for the future. We have to score points to play in the next Libertadores.” The Doll continued: “We had a good first half and a bad second half. They subjugated us. We couldn’t get into the game in the second half. I tried through the changes, but the match split. “We played very poorly in the second half.”
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Now, with four dates remaining until the league closes, Vélez is the leader with 44, Huracán is close behind with 42 and Racing It is third with 40. Fourth, Talleres with 39. Then, with 36, along with Unión and Atlético Tucumán, is this River that does not look like River nor does it look like a Marcelo Gallardo team.
The millionaires could not reach the final of the Liberators. They were already left out of the fight for the league title. And they only aim to continue adding to stay in the qualification positions for Libertadores 2025. Not reaching that goal would be equal to an absolute failure.