From the double 9 of Borja and Rondón to the defensive fragility: the two sides of the River of Demichelis

The first test of double 9 He left the coach with mixed feelings Martin Demichelis. If you look at the glass half full, you will conclude that both Miguel Borgia AS Solomon Rondon they mated, did not clash within the courthouse, and River generated many scoring situations in the win against Banfield for him Champions Trophy. It happens that doubts arise when analyzing the empty part: the cast of Núñez created several scoring chances, the defense once again showed a pale version and the game does not flow much less.

“We didn’t like the image we finished. Apart from the two goal lead, we never became masters of the game and the ball. This showed throughout the second half. These are things we need to improve. Sometimes we have they were very wide and long, they started hitting us with filtered balls and some long balls and it was difficult for us to settle into the setback. Apart from the fact that they didn’t have the ball, they were better than us. During the We’ll have to fix it this week.”was the captain’s self-criticism Enzo Perez moments after the win against Drill.

As Perez mentioned, The river did not shine in Córdoba. But the area forwards, Borja and Rondón, understood the coach’s bet for Mario Kempes’ duel. It was assumed that Colombian and Venezuelan would be able to get along because of the hierarchy they have. They planted themselves close to rival defenders and from there tried to unload for the defenders. More: both are powerful and are imposed from above. The best connection happened shortly after the start of part two when they both put together quite a wall that culminated in a bad definition of hummingbird. In the coffee farmer’s goal, Rondón -who missed two claritas early on- participated by lowering the ball to Nacho Fernández.

It insists: the analysis of the Borja-Rondón tandem was positive. The problem is how the team worked around the forwards. And there the sensations were not good.

It has been difficult for River to grow out of his tenure as neither Borja nor Rondón are players who throw themselves back to connect with midfielders, an issue they can do Pablo Solari OR Luca Beltran. Neither Jonathan Maidana, Franco Armani and Robert Rojas They are distinguished by the steps. Thus, Núñez’s cast was left with few pieces with good footing and mobility to prevail. That’s why he couldn’t get River Touch together. Hence, he was more direct when it came to attacking, as evidenced in Borja’s goal play.

Most troubling about the River were the defensive setbacks. And if they put the magnifying glass on the forwards: neither Borja nor Rondón are two footballers who carry blood pressure and usually do not occupy defensive positions, such as being on the wheel for one of the flanks. Another thing that happened is that sometimes Enzo Perez too much was left alone because Nacho Fernández was it hitch and why Santiago Simon AND Esequiel boat They tend to go by gangs. And those free sectors that can be generated are usually fatal for a player like Maidana, who does not stand out for his speed. The river, as we know, usually stands tall on the playing field. The two goals by Andrés Chávez (one deleted from overs) were identical.

He has good things to be happy about Demichelis and others to worry about. The trainer and his working group will have all the data and images to review. Córdoba was nothing more than a first test. We will have to wait a little longer, of course. Will it be repeated against Arsenal on Sunday?