Racing sealed its passage to the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana by beating Huachipato of Chile 6-1 in the second leg of the round of 16, after having won 2-0 in the first match. The Academy took a good lead last week at the Sausalito stadium in Viña del Mar to calmly decide the second leg at its Avellaneda stadium.
And in a night of pure goals, he gave a lesson in football against a limited opponent. There were no equivalents, from start to finish. Now, the Academy is gaining momentum not only in the international arena, but also, thinking about the classic against Independiente.
Racing also has a good present in the Professional League, since on Friday they beat Newell’s 1-0 away and climbed to fourth place, three points behind the leader Huracán, after eleven rounds. “These two victories are very good for us. But in Argentina today it is like this. If you win, it is not all good, because they tell you that you did not beat anyone, as they tell us with Huachipato. And that team beat Gremio in Brazil and beat the Argentine champions. [Estudiantes] in La Plata,” said coach Gustavo Costas after the victory over Newell’s.
The first half was a spectacle for the Academy. In 21 minutes, between 10 and 31, the Academy scored three goals, through Baltasar Rodríguez, Adrián Martínez and Johan Carbonero, in a festival of offensive play against a defense that offered freedom at all times. Huachipato could have scored, but Maximiliano Rodríguez’s goal was stopped by the VAR, which warned referee Juan Gabriel Benítez that there was an offside position in the previous action.
Later, with the game broken, with the midfield as a free zone for traffic, Racing stepped on the gas. The referee did not observe a foul inside the area, the VAR called it, the action was reviewed and there was a penalty for Racing. Juanfer Quintero kicked softly, to the middle and Fabián Cerda, the experienced 35-year-old goalkeeper, guessed the shot and prevented the conquest.
But the game continued on a sloping pitch and there was time for another celebration before half-time. After a delightful assist from Quintero, Carbonero had space and time to finish. The pass to the net was begging for permission, to the point that Maravilla could have taken it away, in an action typical of the goalscorers’ selfishness. It was not the case. The Colombian, in need of goals and good performances, shouted it with heart and soul. As if it had been the first goal.
In the midst of the thrashing, Huachipato at least had the pleasure of finding the discount. It came from a penalty, scored by the Venezuelan Brayan Palmezano, who had just entered. In this way, Racing was 4-1 on the scoreboard. But there would be more…
Following a corner kick by Quintero, Maravilla Martínez touched the ball at the near post, the ball travelled across the entire six-yard box, hit the base of the post and was left in front of Di Cesare, who only had to dive to push it into the net and score the fifth goal for the Academy at the Cilindro, on a night of celebration for Gustavo Costas’ team.
Huachipato occupies an uncomfortable thirteenth place in the Chilean championship, just three points ahead of the last place, despite the fact that in the 20th round it managed to beat Deportes Copiapó 2-0 as a visitor. The Acerero is going through an existential crisis.
The sixth goal came with a touch from Quintero from the right for Almendra to arrive. The former Boca midfielder had every opportunity to advance diagonally, enter alone behind the defense and shoot past Cerda with a powerful shot for 6-1.
Juan Fernando Quintero missed his penalty – Credits: @JUAN MABROMATA
The difference was so great that it seemed at all times that another goal was coming for the Academy, while the people sang and jumped, aiming for the classic with Independiente, for the domestic tournament. Logically, thinking about that commitment, Costas changed almost half the team, when there were still about 25 minutes left.
Gabriel Rojas, Santiago Sosa, Agustín Almendra, Baltasar Rodríguez and the Colombian Carbonero left. Leonardo Sigali, Juan Nardoni, Bruno Zuculini, Roger Martínez and Agustín Urzi came on to bring freshness to the team.
Racing will now face the winner of the series between Belgrano, from Córdoba, and the Brazilian Athletico Paranaense, who won 2-1 at home in the first match, in the quarterfinals. In any case, Racing’s mind is already in classic mode: it will face Independiente at home, this Sunday, at 5 pm.
