El Millonario got off to a better start and threatened Sebastian Torrico’s goal in the starting minutes of the match. Benjamin Rollheiser escaped on the left and tried to find Julian Alvarez in the center of the box, but the rival keeper reacted well. Then, Agustin Palavecino struck the ball from outside the box and over the crossbar. San Lorenzo set the score at 1-0 off the first chance it got, with a left-footed crossed shot by Nicolas Fernandez Mercau.
River went for the equalizer. The team was close to evening the score with a high header by David Martinez and then, Julian Alvarez scored the equalizer: He received a pass from Santiago Simon, got in the right position, and sent a shot right into Torrico’s left goalpost. In the next play, River’s no. 9 took a free kick; then, Palavecino almost made River take the lead with a header that was saved by Torrico. In the last play of the first half, Alvarez escaped on the left and crossed an off target shot.
In the second half, River had a very clear chance on a set piece from the left: Julian fired a dangerous cross to the heart of the goal area, but Robert Rojas failed to direct his header on target. On a good penetrating run, Alvarez set up Palavecino for a goal, but the midfielder couldn’t put a shot on-target.
In the 65th minute, el Millonario celebrated the second goal: Rojas set up a good play on the right, passing the ball to Palavecino, whose low shot was blocked by Torrico; however, Julian caught the rebound and sent the ball into the net, rightly setting the score at 2-1. In another very clear play, Jorge Carrascal couldn’t beat Torrico with a right-footed shot into the near post.
In the final minutes, with River dominating the game, Julian had the pleasure of celebrating his third goal: He went after a long pass from the right, got to the ball together with Torrico and tapped it low, settling the score at 3-1 and reaching 10 goals in the tournament. El Millonario now has 36 points and is four points clear of Talleres, against which it will play a key match on Thursday as away team in Cordoba.
(Prensa River Plate)
