Copa Libertadores: U. Católica 1 – 2 River Plate

By: Christian | March 12th, 2008

catolica 1 - 2 river

For the second straight time in this years Copa Libertadores, River were able to bounce back from a tepid performance to grab the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of the match, this time defeating Chile’s Universidad Católica in a 2-1 victory tonight in Santiago. The result sends los millonarios to the top of Group 5 with 6 points and on pace to advance.

Diego Simeone again tinkered with his lineup, returning to a classic 4-3-1-2 formation, yet River stubbornly stuck to some old, bad habits, playing a dull and uninspired match for almost the entire 90 minutes. Their rivals Católica were not much better, falling asleep in front of goal to give Sebastián Abreu an easy strike in the 43rd minute. But River, not to be outdone, were just as equally poor in defense, giving los cruzados one back to start the second half. But the game winner would come from an unlikely source, when the diminutive Diego Buonanotte managed a fantastic run up the left after having the ball stripped from him, which would lead to Mauro Rosales’ game winner in the 87th minute.

Truth be told, this was a shocking game, with weak performances from both sides. River looked anemic in attack. Gustavo Cabral again had a rough night, nearly giving up 2 goals in the process. Alexis Sánchez was just not effective, and he seemed to have trouble communicating with an equally confused Abreu, who despite the goal, is looking questionable up front. Católica were not much better, with seemingly half the squad flopping up and down the pitch looking for any kind of advantage. And the home crowd in Santiago “welcomed” back former Colo Colo star Sánchez with a barage of projectiles as he left the pitch with an injury. The lone bright spot for la banda again was Juan Pablo Carrizo, whose brilliant save in the second half off a free kick kept the team’s chances alive.

Perhaps I’m being a touch harsh on River, who after all are sitting, for now, atop their group, and still have 2 more matches at home. But as the competition rolls on, the margin of error will be getting smaller and smaller, and River as of yet have not shown any indication of growing stronger.

Next up, a clásico at home against Racing in the league.

River Plate
Juan Pablo Carrizo
Paulo Ferrari, Gustavo Cabral, Eduardo Tuzzio, Cristian Villagra
Augusto Fernández, Leonardo Ponzio, Matias Abelairas (Diego Buonanotte, 65th)
Ariel Ortega
Alexis Sánchez (Mauro Rosales, 65th), Sebastián Abreu