Fernando Romero Nuñez River Plate beat Boca Juniors 2-1 at home to claim another win in Argentine football’s most important fixture, the Superclásico. Goals from man-of-the-match Franco Mastantuono and Sebastián Driussi gave head coach Marcelo Gallardo the bragging rights in a highly entertaining and emotional encounter at the Monumental stadium.
As the build-up to the highly-anticipated match began, a moment of unity filled the stadium. It was a week in which Argentina lost Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the country’s first Pope. Football wanted its turn to share its own tribute on Sunday. A video was shown on the Monumental stadium’s screen, displaying a collection of images to commemorate Pope Francis’ life. After holding a minute of silence, River captain Franco Armani and Boca’s Marcos Rojo paid tribute with a banner.
The biggest question in the build-up was how Boca would line up. Injuries to star striker Edinson Cavani, forward Milton Giménez and international star Ander Herrera meant head coach Fernando Gago looked set to diverge from the 4-4-2 that sent the Xeneize to the top of the table. He settled for a more defensive 5-3-2, while Gallardo sent out a team in his usual offensive 4-3-3.
As the game began, the Millionarios attacking intent quickly became apparent. 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono led the charge, using his quick feet and dazzling dribbling to wreak havoc on the Xeneize’s defense.
However, the opener would come from a set play, the youngster taking control of a free-kick some 25 metres away from the goal. With a windy day to assist, he took advantage and slotted the ball into the top left corner. Boca goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín could do nothing about it.
Boca’s response arrived via sporadic counter attacks. In the 30th minute, Uruguayan striker Miguel Merentiel slipped through cracks in the River defense to storm into the box with the ball, before being sharply closed down by Qatar 2022 penalty hero Gonzalo Montiel. Just seven minutes later with River very much on the front foot, a long ball by defender Lautaro Blanco put the Xeneize striker through the Millonarios’ defense again, this time with the space to attack and tap the ball past Armani for 1-1.
The goal did not change the game’s flow and River quickly regained control. In the 43th minute, Mastantuono freed himself from the Xeneize defense and allowed Marcos Acuña time and space to find striker Sebastián Driussi with a cross. Another Marchesín save denied the forward, but the striker was quicker to react to the rebound and make it 2-1 to the hosts.
Tempers immediately flared after the goal, with the Boca players taking issue with River’s substitutes invading the pitch to celebrate. What had begun as a more tame and respectful Superclásico, suddenly turned into the theatre drama that it normally provides.
More drama at the Monumental
The second half saw the Xeneize seeing much more of the ball to find the goal they needed. Gago’s team made better use of the wide areas, with Luís Advíncula and Blanco pushing higher up the pitch.
Gallardo also changed tactics, moving Mastantuono from the wide area to the space in between the two strikers, adding another option in the middle of the pitch. The switch seemed to work and in the 58th minute, he took advantage of a slip by Boca’s Milton Delgado to go 1v1 with Marchesín. Ignoring teammate Facundo Collidio’s shouts for a pass, he went for goal and put it narrowly wide.
With just over 20 minutes left, Gago went all in, subbing on skillful winger Exequiel Zeballos to find gaps in River’s defence. His gamble almost paid off four minutes later, as the attacker ran into space from a long pass by Kevin Zenón but put his shot just wide of Armani’s far post.
The Xeneize’s chances came in the last minutes of the game, twice through corner kicks. Armani saved the ball off the line following a ricochet from Boca defender Lautaro Di Lollo. Another big save followed in added time, clearing a clean header by Boca’s Ayrton Costa in the six yard box. It was to no avail for Gago’s team, who received their first taste of defeat since March.
For the classy Mastantuono, it was a crowning moment to become the youngest player ever to score for River in a Superclásico, aged 17 years, 8 months, and 13 days. “It’s not usual to be afforded so much security and trust, so I’m lucky,” he said after the game.
Following the final whistle, and almost two hours after River fans took a minute of silence for the loss of the country’s late pontiff, River players and fans sang “A minute of silence, for Boca that’s dead.” The unity and respect shown before kick-off an afterthought to bragging rights over their city rivals.
“Derbies are like this,” said Acuña after the game. “They had some chances near the end, but we went out to win it from kick-off. The derby stays at home.”
The late Pope, a devout San Lorenzo fan who preferred not to watch games in his later years, would probably still have enjoyed that one.
