Fecha 2 of the Liga Profesional was an unusual one which saw shock defeats for Racing and Boca Juniors. River Plate could only draw and we have a surprise early leader in Platense who have been in great form since Mauro Zárate signed for them.
Racing fall at the second hurdle
Racing went the whole of the Copa de la Liga group stage undefeated. However, they have lost in just their second game of the Liga Profesional.
The match against Godoy Cruz did not start well for Fernando Gago’s side as Tomás Chancalay was sent off in the 36th minute.
Tomba took advantage of playing against 10 men taking the lead early in the second half as Salomón Rodríguez headed in a cross from Martín Ojeda.
Godoy Cruz were soon down to ten men also as Franco Negri was given his marching orders on the 64th minute.
The 2-0 victory was sealed when substitute Tadeo Allende squared the ball to Rodríguez who tapped in for his second of the game.
#TorneoBinance ⚽@ClubGodoyCruz 🆚 @RacingClub
⏱ ¡Final del partido en el Malvinas Argentinas!
🔵⚪ 2-0 🎓#VamosTomba 💪 pic.twitter.com/JbjfsyjhI0
— Club Godoy Cruz (@ClubGodoyCruz) June 12, 2022
Despite the result Racing still had more of the possession with 66%. However, they were less clinical than Godoy Cruz who had 6 shots on target to Racing’s 2.
La Academia face Vélez Sarsfield in their next game as they look to bounce back from this defeat. Gago had two spells at Vélez as a player and will be looking to get one over his former club in this fixture.
Boca go off the rails
Boca Juniors also suffered a shock defeat as they were defeated 1-0 by Central Córdoba. The goal came on the 56th minute as Francisco González Metilli smashed in a rebound after Agustín Rossi had saved an initial effort from Jesús Soraire.
A moment of controversy came when El Ferroviario were awarded a penalty which was initially missed by Renzo Lopez. The follow up was fired in by Jesus Miguel Soraire. However, the referee deemed him to be offside and the goal was disallowed.
¡FINAL DEL PARTIDO!
📌 Con gol de Francisco Gonzalez Metilli, el Ferro le ganó 1 a 0 a @BocaJrsOficial.#SomosCentralSomosSantiago pic.twitter.com/HmwGpZPnIv
— Club Atletico Central Córdoba (@cacc_sde) June 13, 2022
It was an embarrassing defeat for Los Xeneizes who had 71% of possession but were very wasteful with their shots and from 18 attempts managed just 2 on target.
Sebastián Battaglia’s side face a rematch of this years Copa de la Liga final in Fecha 3 of the Liga Profesional as they take on Tigre on Thursday. This will not be an easy fixture as Diego Martínez’s side will be out for revenge from their defeat.
Platense go top
We have unlikely leaders in Platense who have been in inspired form since Mauro Zárate joined the club.
Zárate’s side were up against his former club Vélez Sarsfield, with whom he had three spells during his career.
The goal in a 1-0 victory came in the 74th minute when Ivan Gomez headed in after Nicolás Morgantini had headed the ball back across goal to him. This came after a great run and through ball from Zárate to captain Juan Infante who produced a great cross to Morgantini.
¡¡¡¡GANOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO #PLATENSE!!!!
⚪️🔵 0️⃣-1️⃣ ⚪️🟤#VamosCalamares🦑 pic.twitter.com/2qumQBtKXz
— Club Atlético Platense (@caplatense) June 12, 2022
El Fortín were reduced to ten men when Matías De los Santos was shown a straight red card for a foul on Horacio Tijanovich.
Platense won despite have just 36% of possession and less shots with 10 with 2 on target to Vélez’s 16 with 4 on target.
Crucially, Omar De Felipe’s side got the three points which puts them top of the Liga Profesional at this early stage. They are the only team with six points after two games.
Álvarez returns but no goals for River
Julián Álvarez returned from international duty with Argentina in River’s match against Atlético Tucumán. However, he could not inspire his team to victory as they played out a 0-0 draw.
Los Millonarios dominated the match with 74% possession, but they were also wasteful with their chances and could not convert any of their 21 shots on goal with 8 on target.
Marcelo Gallardo’s side have now drawn their first two games of the Liga Profesional. River face a trip to Colón in the next round.
