River Plate move within two wins of the title

Matchday 22 was a crucial one for River Plate in Argentina’s Torneo Binance.

Talleres de Córdoba could only pick up a draw with Godoy Cruz, allowing River Plate to sit at the top of the Liga Profesional table with a nine-point lead. Despite a shock 2-1 defeat away to Barracas Central at the weekend, River can clinch the title with a home win over Colón de Santa Fe and a successful away trip to San Lorenzo.

Demichelis mixes it up

River Plate head coach Martin Demichelis took the decision to make a number of changes to the starting lineup against Barracas. During the week, River successfully qualified for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores after a 2-0 win over The Strongest of Bolivia.

The changes had a negative effect on River, who went 2-0 down to Barracas before pulling one back in the 2-1 defeat. It was their first loss to Barracas in 97 years, and their fourth of the season.

A strong start to life at River Plate

During the dominant years of the Marcelo Gallardo era, River won a staggering 14 trophies in eight years. That included a Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and a league title. He left his role as coach at the end of 2022, leaving large shoes to fill. But Demichelis has done a stellar job so far. His 21 wins in his opening 30 games leaves him with the best start to a River Plate manager’s career, breaking the record set by Carlos Paucelle in 1942.

Can anyone stop River in their tracks?

River Plate lead the Torneo Binance table with 50 points. They’ve racked up 16 wins in 22 matches.

Talleres de Córdoba, their closest challengers, sit nine points adrift, on 41 points. Their issue has been drawing – they’ve won 12 and drawn five. They have dropped points where River have gotten over the line.

Colón at home should be a routine victory for River. Colón sit 22nd (from 28 teams) in the Torneo Binance, with just 24 points from 22 games. Although one of their four wins came away at Boca Juniors, they’ve won just one of their last five, a run which included a 4-0 defeat at home to Racing Club.

River’s biggest test will come in their visit to San Lorenzo, who have hit a strong run of form. In matchday 22 of the Torneo Binance they jumped from fifth to third with a win over Rosario Central. They surpassed a record previously held by rivals Racing for not conceding a goal in over 1,400 minutes of open play.

In midweek, they qualified for the knockout stages of the Copa Sudamericana after a 4-1 win over Estudiantes de Mérida of Venezuela’s Liga FUTVE.