The Superclásico of inexplicable changes: a vibrant River-Boca that pleases no one

He Super classic inside Monumental It was a draw. But there are always winners and losers, even if the points have been distributed. In the previous one, a good deal for both; As the game unfolds, both have reasons to celebrate and to regret. It ends 1-1 with goals from Pablo Solari and Cristian Medina, both in the second half. The local took the lead and managed to land the knockout blow, but suffered a puncture. The guests had everything to take home the three points, but they paid too dearly for their mistakes. And the coach will have to explain a lot, Diego MartinezThat decided to remove the best player from the fieldthe one who had given him football and the equalizer, when he was ready to turn the game around.

Martín Demichelis’ streak in the classic against Boca is over. She was trying for the third time in a row, but she left a worrying image: the feeling is that his River is in decline. Martínez’s debut in this type of duels, however, was a little more encouraging, which is why it is so difficult to find a convincing reason to explain the changes he has made. In the end the draw was fair.

The game was played to the rhythm of the wind. It was changeable, fast and unpredictable. He played in River’s favor during the first quarter of an hour. The coach’s gamble to play with Rodrigo Villagra as the only central midfielder and then to add attacking players (Barco, Echeverri, Solari and Nacho Fernández) to provide Facundo Colidio ignited the match. They played first class, they broke down walls and at times It looked like they were about to reach the bottom of Chiquito Romero’s arc.. But he came close in the final meters to break away from his rival and take the lead. Figal’s initial yellow card affected a defense that had to resort to fouls to stop a River determined to leave their mark on the match.

At 22 minutes, Collidio made the Monumentale tremble with a hat on Advíncula and a slap that left Romero immobile. It would have been a great goal, but he missed his chalk and the ball hit the post.

But the wind immediately diminished and so did River’s power. She began to blow, softly, it’s true, in the opposite direction. They had a lot to do with this Equi Fernandez and Medina put the ball under the sole and give confidence to the team. The idea was clear: handle the ball calmly and clearly. He also appeared capricious starting from the small area: Lema passed to Chiquito Romero and from there, from the goalkeeper’s feet, Boca tried to loop to reach Armani (the day he succeeds it will be a great goal), but he cost.

Almost always slow and predictable in the first half, the guests did little in the first half (a couple of passes on the left that found no receivers in the area, a left-footed shot by Jabes Saralegui that went wide). However, there was a clear intention to defend with (good handling of) the ball.

Boca is missing at the top and Gigolo knows it: He will have to rethink what Edinson Cavani, the star reinforcement who neither scores goals nor kicks on goal, plays. It cannot be denied that he has quality (just like his numbers and his career), but he is never in front of goal. His best virtues are his solidarity in going down and recovering the ball, and his precision in unloading and setting up the attack. Furthermore he seems very annoying with colleagues and constantly scolds and gesticulates.

The best of the match happened in the second half. Boca came out with a different look: staying in the rival field and imposing its refined control and passing game. But a fundamental inattention cost him the victory. There were 3 minutes in which Enzo Díaz threw a ball behind Lema and Figal Pablo Solari he will leak and be alone with the ball and 40 meters ahead to face Romero. He defined and the goalkeeper blocked the shotbut the rebound went to the attacker who reacted promptly and finished with his right foot. Small, disjointed, this time he was unable to stop the ball, which hit his feet and went into the goal. The crowd had a half-celebration, as all eyes fell on linesman Facundo Rodríguez, who kept the flag lowered. The people were already trained by VAR and were waiting for the confirmation that would arrive a few moments later from the TV so they could celebrate. River went ahead 1-0 almost without breaking a sweat.

Three minutes later, Zenón shoots long to the left and Herrera brings him down. Yael Falcón showed him the yellow card and that play – irrelevant – caused some pieces to move which ended up resolving the match. Because before 3pm, Demichelis sends Sant’Anna onto the pitch to cover the right side and also Aliendro for Diablito Echeverri. River now no longer has the vertigo of attacking and its coach bets on a slightly more conservative scheme to manage the advantage. Immediately, the one who moved the bank was Martínez: Langoni enters for Cavani and the stadium explodes: whistles and insults for the Uruguayan. But he also took out Saralegui to bring in Blondel. First strange change for the Boca coach because the young midfielder had played a good match, his ninth in the First Division in a career that promises a lot.

It took a couple of minutes for Boca to settle in after the substitutions. The wind changed direction again. AND He got the equalizer with what had been his most dangerous weapon in the first half: Blanco’s rise to the left. The former Elche received Zenón on his elevator and faced Sant’Anna, who remained hand in hand. Blanco threw him long, passed him and when he entered the area he became untouchable. He sent the center back, Merentiel exaggerated and Medina arrived in the heart of the area to define without finishing, but instead he gave a pass towards goal and the ball arrived in the net. It was a great goal. What was proven and what the technician had conceived came out.

Now the one who was against the ropes was River. And the guest eager to take the lead and overturn the result. Boca reversed the score for the last time on 28 August 2022When Langoni He scored a brace against Atlético Tucumán and the team Ugo Ibarra He righted the ship towards the title. Since then, 21 games have passed (including this Sunday) in which Boca started from behind and barely managed to equalize four times. Today was the one that was celebrated the most, it’s clear. The rest were 17 defeats.

With everything in Boca’s favour, the one that almost came out on top was River. A header from Miguel Borja generated the best save of the match from Romero, who also deflected the shot from Sant’Anna, who had captured the rebound. Demichelis will also have to explain why he included Borja in the game. The Colombian showed difficulty in his movements. He barely recovered from a torn adductor and beyond the header that could have been a goal, it was clear that he wasn’t ready to play. It’s true: Agustín Ruberto, the other variant, didn’t seem like an option for a duel of this magnitude.

The people of River reacted worse when the bright sign signaled the exit of Villagra (only the central one was on the bench) for the entry of the Uruguayan Fonseca. And the other one who came in was Franco Mastantuono in place of Nacho Fernández. The 16-year-old boy showed that the responsibility of playing in Millonario’s Primera doesn’t weigh on him: he asked for the ball in and almost won the match with a right-footed shot at the end that went over the crossbar. crossbar.

But all the style manuals caught fire after 33 minutes, when Diego Martínez decided to eliminate Medina so that Nicolás Valentini could come in and form a line of five defenders. Medina gestured and shrugged when he saw the number 36 on the badge. Medina, the best player of the match, the one who led Boca to the equalizer (he also scored the goal) sat on the bench with more than 15 minutes remaining. As in. Boca had everything to win.

Yet he almost succeeded. Colidio tries a change in front and leaves Zenón with the ball and free field in front. The left-footed player ran a few meters and adjusted his aim: he placed a precise cross for Merentiel, but the Uruguayan was unable to connect and the ball was lost in the background. With it went Boca’s last real chance to keep the three points. Towards the end Benedetto and Fabra enter, but the team no longer attacks. And it was River, with more will – and commitment – than football who tried to tip the scales in their favor regarding the closure. Colidio thought about it on a cross from the right, but he scored badly and off target. And then Mastantuono, with that right foot that he exaggerated. There was no time for anything else and the draw won the Superclásico. The coaches will then tell their reasons, but even the words will be carried away by the wind.