River played very poorly, lost to Gimnasia and Monumental exploded in the run-up to the Superclásico
River played very poorly again and lost 1 to 0 with Gimnasia in a hot Monumentalwho showed all his anger in the preview of the Superclásico. The team of Marcelo Gallardowith a very weak and irregular presence in the Clausura Tournament, lost fundamental points in the fight to enter the next Libertadores, while Lobo breathed in the fight for permanence. And to crown a fateful night, Borja missed a penalty in the 106th minute.
In the midst of one of his biggest football crises in recent years, with four defeats in his five previous championship games and the elimination in the Argentine Cup, at the hands of Independiente Rivadavia, last week, the Millionaire met again with his people, who marked the field since the voice of the stadium named the team, with several signed up.
What happened this Sunday was, in every sense, a test of characterbecause River had a lot at stake both emotionally, thinking about next Sunday’s match against Boca in La Bombonera, and in terms of football, because its lifelong rival had achieved an agonizing victory against Estudiantes and had added key points in the Annual Table.
But as has been happening in the last (long) time, Everything cost River a lot. Too much. The push of the first minutes, in which Ian Subiabre, starter after two months, tested goalkeeper Nelson Insfrán, was a mirage.
The minutes were passing and Gallardo’s team could not break Gimnasia’s defensive order, led by Fernando Zanirattowhich had a very neat game and did not even suffer in defense.
To make matters worse, one week before the Superclásico, Facundo Colidio suffered a muscle injurywas replaced at 16 minutes by the youthful Cristian Jaime and burst into tears on the substitute bench, in an image that does not give much hope for an express recovery (another headache since Driussi would not arrive either).
Not even the entry of the kid, who had left good impressions in his first moments in First Division, changed River’s offensive dynamics, which He showed neither order nor ambition nor the nerve to change anything..
Furthermore, in one of their few approaches in the initial stage, Lobo was close to 1-0 with a deflected shot by Chelo Torres after a cross from Piedrahita.
The response of the people, who in the first 45 minutes had supported without reproaches, except for some isolated murmurs, was sung: whistles in unison as the team headed to the locker room.
Gallardo, who once again received the support of the people in his 500th game as coach of River, did not move the bench for the complement. And if a certain (striking) patience had characterized him in the first half, everything collapsed in the second half.
In 18 minutes, the 85,000 fans who filled the Monumental had gone through almost all the complaints: from “move, River, move” to “players, your mother’s c*ss”, passing through “put more eggs, put more heart”.
In the middle, to finish filling the people’s spirits, Gimnasia opened the scoring in one of its solitary offensive attacks: Portillo chased Merlini in the area, brought him down and, although in principle he did not charge anything, the referee Nazareno Arasa was called by the VAR and awarded a penalty..
Towersemerged from Boca, deceived Armani and scored 1 to 0 at 55 minutes.
Gallardo sent Borja, Lencina and Meza to the field – instead of Jaime, Subiabre and Quintero – trying to reverse the situation, but the lack of confidence and nervousness of the players only increased.
In this general disorder, Salas missed the goal with his head, the ball bounced off Castaño’s cue when he was going alone, Portillo made Insfrán fly with a header, Meza connected badly with his head in the six-yard box, Rivero almost scored from outside the area and Nacho Fernández, who entered at the end, also botched the definition. It must be said: In addition to playing badly, very badly, River did not link…
At the end, the people, who could hardly sing against Boca, since the team’s performance took all the ‘flashes’, ended up exploding: “let them all leave, let not a single one remain”, barely 24 hours after the club’s elections, which starting tomorrow will have Stefano Di Carlo as president, and “sweat your shirts.”
The nervousness was already total, and not even the penalty (penalty) for a grab by Suso on Martínez Quarta, taken when the ninth minute of the addition was completed and rectified after the VAR review, was enough to escape from one more defeat: the fourth in a row at the Monumentalafter the setbacks against Palmeiras, Riestra and Sarmiento, a record that was not enough since 1926, 99 years ago!
After the anger of the Tripero team over the referee’s ruling, Borja stood in front of Insfrán and, in line with his performance in recent months, he failed, like last week in Córdoba. The goalkeeper stretched epically, saved the penalty and generated double madness: from the fans, who exploded for the umpteenth time that night, and from his teammates, who hugged him in a big way when Arasa ended the match.
Gimnasia got three fundamental points after the defeat in the classic against Estudiantes: moved away from the bottom of the Annual Tablewhere the red zone lurked, and won again in Núñez after two decades. His next rival will be Vélez in the Forest.
River, which is still third in the standings due to the falls of Riestra and Argentinos this weekend, will face one of its biggest tests in a long time: the Superclásico. There, seeking to maintain third place, which would make him play Phase 2 of the Libertadores, and get closer to Boca, who now he gets four points with two dates aheadthere will be a lot of play.
