San Lorenzo extended its winning streak in Vicente López and Racing stumbled in Tucumán: the best of Sunday’s matchday in the Professional League

After the bitter draw that left a bitter taste in the derby against Independiente, Racing moved to the north of Argentina with the mission of returning to victory in order to keep up with Vélez, at the top of the Professional League. Although Atlético Tucumán did not let itself be intimidated by the stars of the Academy, through the set piece Gustavo Costas’ team did enough to open the scoring.

Juanfer Quintero’s exquisite strike caused serious problems for the Decano’s defence. And only thanks to the remarkable interventions of Tomás Durso did the visitors not take the lead. The Colombian tried with a free kick that the goalkeeper deflected to the corner. Then he tried to surprise with an Olympic goal that paralysed the hearts of the public and a few moments later he looked for the head of Roger Martínez, who managed to anticipate the entire defence, but his header went wide of the near post.

The home team’s response came through Facundo Sava’s laboratory. The ball stopped by Pulga Rodríguez allowed Moisés Brandán to shoot at Gabriel Arias from the edge of the penalty area, but the Neuquén native with a past in Defensa y Justicia responded with confidence.

Bad luck for Avellaneda came when Agustín García Basso slipped in the middle of the pitch and fell with the weight of his entire body on his left shoulder. An injury that took him out of the match and his place was taken by Leonardo Sigali.

When Fernando Echenique’s clock reached half an hour, the legendary striker with a past at Colón de Santa Fe and Gimnasia invented a perfect assist for Renzo Tesuri’s projection and the midfielder solved with class before Arias’ exit. Facundo Mura’s lukewarm marking facilitated the work of the attacker, who made the local public delirious with his conquest.

Before the end of the first half, the partnership between Roger Martínez and Baltasar Rodríguez could have resulted in a draw, but the goal by the kid from Monte Hermoso went half a meter wide of Durso’s post. Racing lacked clarity in the final stitch. Even in stoppage time, Maxi Salas passed to Juanfer Quintero, but the River Plate idol resolved with a shot that did not have the desired destination.

In the second half, the Academy had the equaliser through Mura’s feet, but the post denied the ex-Estudiantes the chance. The diagonal pass that Baltasar Rodríguez had suggested in the counterattack opened the way for the full-back, who lamented the wasted opportunity. Costas’ men had done very well, but luck was never on their side.

In the final stretch, the Dean had the chance to settle the dispute with a free throw from Mateo Bajamich that Arias defused with a volleyball resource. And in return, the walls built by Roger Martínez and Agustín Almendra were worthy of the albiceleste conquest, although Durso’s production went against the wishes of the Buenos Aires team.

Although Racing deserved to take something from the Monumental José Fierro, in general terms the team was not up to par and lost ground in the fight for the top spots in the domestic tournament. If it really wants to be a protagonist of the championship, it will have to rethink many things. Like the decisions made by the coach, who never offered a solution to the problems that Atlético Tucumán caused.

Formations:

Coach: Facundo Sava.

Racing: Gabriel Arias; Coach: Gustavo Costas.

TV: ESPN Premium.

Referee: Fernando Echenique.

VAR: Andrés Merlos.

Stadium: José Fierro Monumental.

PLATENSE 0-2 SAN LORENZO

After the victory against Talleres de Córdoba at the Pedro Bidegain, San Lorenzo arrived at the Ciudad de Vicente López stadium with the mission of confirming its recovery. The painful elimination in the round of 16 against Atlético de Mineiro in Brazil and the controversial loss in the classic against Boca at La Bombonera gave more fuel to a squad that had been hit, but trusted in Leandro Atilio Romagnoli’s project. And from the first moves, the Cyclone tried to impose conditions against a Platense, which was overwhelmed by the interventions of Matías Reali, Alexis Cuello and Elián Mateo Irala.

In any case, Calamar managed to create the clearest chance to open the scoring, before Ariel Penel’s stopwatch reached the first quarter of an hour. It was through a cross from Guido Mainero that found Mateo Pellegrino’s head and Longaniza’s son broke the Chila Gómez crossbar. The metallic sound made Pipi’s men react, who in the next action appealed to Alexis Cuello’s pasture and a foul by Iván Gómez led to the penalty that Iván Leguizamón converted into a goal with a cross shot. An execution that was impossible for Juan Pablo Cozzani.

Using the same formula, the team led by the strategic duo of Flavio Orsi and Sergio Ramón reached a tie. A quick escape by Franco Minerva caused a hasty and spectacular exit by the former Racing and Vélez goalkeeper; and the referee did not hesitate: penalty. And from the twelve steps, Mateo Pellegrino touched the ball towards the opposite post of his rival to seal the 1-1. A result that was more in line with the development of the spectacle.

In the second half, the tie continued until Elián Mateo Irala displayed all his individual technique with a beautiful shot from medium distance. The midfielder captured a weak defensive clearance and surprised Cozzani with a shot that went into the side netting. A magnificent achievement for one of the pillars of the Cuervo’s offense.

Despite the suffering at the end, where Pellegrino hit the post with a header and Ronaldo Martínez was unable to stop the equaliser due to his teammate from Spain being offside, San Lorenzo took a key victory to confirm that they are still on their feet. Despite the adversities, Pipi Romagnoli showed, once again, that the Barça heart is not broken by a couple of results.

TV: ESPN Premium.

Referee: Ariel Penel.

VAR: Mauro Vigliano.

Stadium: City of Vicente Lopez

HURRICANE 0-2 TIGER

On a grey afternoon in which Huracán had the opportunity to catch up with Vélez at the top of the Professional League, Globo began its day in the least expected way: with an adverse result against Tigre, one of the most limited teams in the domestic tournament. A magnificent pass from Gonzalo Maroni allowed Blas Armoa to play next to a post from Hernán Galíndez and silence the picturesque Tomás Adolfo Ducó of Parque Patricios.

Far from what the predictions indicated, the team from El Quemero never found the formula to equalize the actions and near the end, after a bad exit by the Ecuadorian goalkeeper, Florián Monzón sealed the 2-0 to settle the match in favor of the Matador. Frank Kudelka’s team lived a terrifying afternoon at the Palacio. Sebastián Domínguez’s team showed that they want to fight in the lower zone and continually row to escape the danger of relegation. The three points went to Victoria.

TV: TNT Sports.

Referee: Leandro Rey Hilfer.

VAR: Hernan Mastrangelo.

Stadium: Tomas Adolfo Duco.

BANFIELD 1-2 HIGH SCHOOL

A goal in the 50th minute of the second half allowed Instituto to take a crucial victory against Banfield in the Professional League championship. The match was played on the Taladro pitch and ended with a 2-1 win in favor of the visitor.

The match corresponding to the 13th round of the Professional League became decisive in the final minutes. During the first half, Lucas Rodríguez contributed with a key assist by sending a low cross that crossed the area until finding Damián Puebla, who scored his first goal of the match just before the break.

In the second half, Banfield equalized the score at minute 24 with a goal from Leandro Garate. After several failed attempts with crosses, Garate headed a pass from Damián Díaz, placing the ball near the corner of the opposing goal.

Despite a few opportunities where Banfield seemed to have the advantage in the game, it was Instituto who took the victory in a quick play in the 50th minute. A cross from the right sent by Facundo Lodico generated the second goal for Puebla, who anticipated goalkeeper Sanguinetti to seal the score of 2-1.

With this result, Instituto moved up to 24 points, equaling Huracán and placing itself three points behind the current leader, Vélez. In addition, the victory propels Instituto to a position that could qualify for the Copa Sudamericana. On the other hand, Banfield continues to be stuck in the bottom of the table.

TV: TNT Sports.

Referee: Nazareno Arasa.

VAR: Jorge Baliño.

Stadium: Florencio Sola.

PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE TABLE: