River won this Wednesday night as a visitor to Alianza Lima from Peru by 1 to 0, in a match of the first date of group F of the Copa Libertadores de América.
The only goal of the match, played at the National Stadium in Lima and refereed by Colombian Wilmar Roldán, was scored by striker Matías Suárez 20 minutes into the second half.
The initial date of the group will be completed tomorrow with the clash between Fortaleza (Brazil) and Colo Colo (Chile).
Gallardo’s record
Marcelo Gallardo made history this Wednesday in the Copa Libertadores as the first coach to lead the same team, River, for eight consecutive editions with the victorious match against Alianza Lima in Peru for the first date of group F.
Gallardo, who won the Copa Libertadores as a player (1996) and coach (2015 and 2018), surpassed the mark of Venezuelan Noel Sanvicente who led Caracas in ten editions and seven were successively: between 2004 and 2010.
The “Muñeco” also managed Nacional de Uruguay for the 2012 Copa Libertadores where he played six games with two wins and four losses.
In his first Copa Libertadores (2015) with River, where he became champion against Tigres de México, he suffered a 2-0 defeat against San José, at Bolivian height, in the premiere.
The following year, they thrashed Trujillanos from Venezuela 4-0, but in that edition they reached the round of 16 after losing on aggregate to the surprising Independiente del Valle from Ecuador.
In 2017 it began with a 3-1 victory against Independiente Medellín of Colombia, as a visitor, in the tournament that was eliminated in the semifinals against Lanús.
The great revenge came in 2018. The beginning was the 2-2 draw with Flamengo from Brazil in Rio de Janeiro and in the final they beat Boca in the remembered 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.
For 2019, River tied 1-1 as a visitor against Alianza Lima and was a few minutes away from the two-time championship; Flamengo turned it around 2-1 in Peru, in a single match.
In 2020, with an alternative team, they fell 3-0 to Liga de Quito in Ecuador, in the edition affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Palmeiras of Brazil eliminated him in the semifinals with an aggregate of 3-2; River was close to the feat in San Pablo.
Gallardo’s team started the 2021 edition with a 1-1 draw with Fluminense from Brazil, as a visitor, and was left out without extenuating circumstances against Atlético Mineiro from Brazil (4-0) in the quarterfinals.
