Although the official competition began less than a month ago, Argentine soccer is advancing at an intense pace.
To the point that this Thursday
the fifth day of the League Cup ended
and the calendar gives no respite: on Saturday the ball is rolling again, the
date of the classics
- the seventh - is just around the corner, and therefore Thus, the group stage of the League Cup is close to reaching the halfway point of its development.
In this context, several teams are already beginning to make calculations to aspire to qualify for the
Playoffs
for the title, while others take out the calculator to avoid being linked in a possible novel with relegation.
With five games behind them, there are still
three teams that do not know the taste of defeat
:
River
and
Instituto
, both leaders of zone A with 11 points, along with
Godoy Cruz
, the lone leader of group B and the team with the most units obtained in so far this tournament, with a total of 13.
Tomba is even the only one that kept an undefeated record in each of its matches
.
El Millonario comes from drawing 0-0 on their visit to
Atlético Tucumán
(3), a result that led them to be overtaken in points by Gloria, who took an important 2-0 victory on their visit to
Independiente Rivadavia de Mendoza
( 6).
On the other side, Godoy Cruz achieved goalless equality against Unión to remain the leader.
However, there are several teams that little by little are beginning to become the hosts of the first competition of 2024 and are fighting for their place in the Playoffs, a ticket that the first four in each group obtain.
We leave behind #Date5 of the #CopaSurFinanzas 🏆 2024 with the position tables like this: pic.twitter.com/zjdx7DrRXv
— Professional Football League (@LigaAFA) February 16, 2024
In zone A, those who got into the discussion and are one away from the lead are
Talleres
(10) and
Independiente
(10).
La T closed the day with its agonizing 2-1 victory against a direct rival for classification like Argentinos Juniors (8), while Rojo became strong in Avellaneda and narrowly defeated the champion
Rosario Central
(5), who He still cannot achieve the performance that allowed him to establish himself in 2023 and is beginning to distance himself from the leaders.
Regarding zone B,
Racing
(10) struck the blow by beating
Newell's
(12) 4-1 on their visit to Rosario, a result that allowed them to place themselves in fourth position in the table.
In addition, he took away Lepra's undefeated record, a result that also leaves him as a runner-up thanks to
Estudiantes
' 1-1 draw (11) against
San Lorenzo
.
Likewise, several teams are those that are not losing track of the first positions.
Under this context appears
Boca
(9), which achieved its first victory in the Bombonera by beating Central Córdoba 2-0 and is placed sixth in group B. By one point difference, ahead of Xeneize, is
Defensa y Justicia
( 10), which defeated a Tigre (1) that has accumulated four consecutive defeats and is
the only team that could not score a goal in the tournament
.
Who is also excited about having a year different from 2023 is
Gimnasia
(9), which with its resounding 3-1 victory against
Huracán
(4) in the Forest, was just one point away from getting into the top four in the area And he left Facundo Sava's continuity at the helm of the Globo under scrutiny.
Racing celebrates and is excited by the hand of Maravilla Martínez.
Photo: Juan José García - Clarín.
However, the outlook is not easy for all teams heading into the Playoffs.
The group stage of the League Cup only consists of 14 rounds and the first four from each zone qualify for the direct elimination duels.
Therefore, on the eve of the sixth date, only three hectic weeks were enough to
get close to completing 50 percent of the fixture
.
Being a short calendar, each point earned or lost can have a great impact for the future.
This is how teams like
San Lorenzo begin to be in danger in the classification
.
Those led by Ruben
Gallego
Insua have not yet won, they only accumulate three points and could be more than seven units away from fourth place.
Belgrano
(2), which has just tied with
Platense
(5) -runner-up in the last championship-, are two clubs that did not maintain their 2023 level and are finding it difficult to climb positions in the table.
Rosario Central, the current champion of this tournament, can also be included in that list.
The date of the classics can mark a break in several institutions.
Furthermore, no matter how distant it may seem,
relegation is still not a topic out of the conversation
: the last of the averages and the bottom of the annual table will lose their category.
And with the League Cup halfway through,
little by little those destined to look at the lower positions more frequently
than those that offer tickets to international cups are beginning to be marked.
Riestra, who only added one point and was close to winning his first victory in the First Division against Vélez (1-2), seems that he will have a complex task if he seeks to obtain permanence.
It is that it is at the limit on both routes of descent.
In the averages, Unión, Sarmiento, Central Córdoba, Platense and Vélez are also committed and only have a difference of two points between themselves.
On the accumulated table side, those in the worst position, in addition to Riestra, are Tigre (1), Banfield (2), Sarmiento (2) and Belgrano (2).