Paulo Díaz
and
Franco Armani
hug tightly
near the goal that the man born in Casilda defended in the second half. Little by little his companions join him. The Monumental roars:
“I want the Libertadores
. ”
Martín Demichelis
sighs and goes to shake his right hand with
Álvaro Recoba
, the rival coach. They are all postcards that summarize
River
's hard-working and indispensable 2-0 victory
against
Nacional
of Uruguay. Now, Núñez's men are leaders of their group with an ideal score (6) and will reach the League Cup final full of confidence. Of course, they were at the top of the FIFA ranking for the
Club World Cup
, surpassing Boca.
Many things can be said about Demichelis, but never that he turns his back on what River fans think. And the sentence, in a humorous tone, refers to the request that a fan made after the long-suffering victory against Rosario Central and which went viral. “Martín, Martín, stop two forwards, for God's sake I ask you. For God's sake, stop two forwards. It's Solari and Borja, nothing more. “It's not that difficult,” the plate player begged. And against Nacional de Montevideo, Micho opted for a logical team, with Rodrigo Villagra as the central midfielder accompanied by Ignacio Fernández and Rodrigo Aliendro, plus
Claudio Echeverri
as a hook and the requested two attackers, Miguel Borja and Pablo Solari, who was in doubt until the last moment due to muscle discomfort.
RIVER GOAL! GREAT GOAL BY DIABLITO ECHEVERRI FOR THE 1-0 ANTE NACIONAL!!
📺 Watch ALL CONMEBOL #Libertadores on #StarPlusLA pic.twitter.com/0IZfIOrPaP
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) April 12, 2024
How did the team respond? Giving away a high-level first 20 minutes. River was intense and effective in those initial moments; People joined the fervor of the Copa night. In 10 minutes, the locals made goalkeeper Luis Mejía work 3 times. In that period, the performances of Nacho, Villagra and Echeverri were very good. It's nice to see him play Little Devil: he dribbles and moves forward with the innocence of his 18-year-old self. The Chaco player is growing game by game and it is a shame that he is leaving so soon: he will not finish exploding in the country. El Diablito, who started for the Libertadores for the first time, scored a great goal with a 25-meter shot that hit the right post.
But both Echeverri and Villagra got tired quickly. Already in the initial stage they showed signs of fatigue. The former Talleres did not do the preseason, he joined River late and that is why it is difficult for him to change the air. The feeling is that, when he gets better physically, he will not leave the team anymore because he has management and good reading to recover. The thing about the Little Devil is known: he grabs her and the illusion ignites.
National grew as the premises remained. The Uruguayan team is a tough team, which came into the Monumental with a 4-2-1-3. The powers of the Nigerian Christian Ebere and the winger Gonzalo Carneiro complicated the defense. Carniero had two very clear ones: in one he botched the definition when he was alone at the penalty spot; In the other, Armani won a head-to-head match.
There is always an Armani save...
📺 Watch ALL CONMEBOL #Libertadores on #StarPlusLA pic.twitter.com/gbJhvrZoSX
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) April 12, 2024
River played worse in the second half. Solari and Echeverri were crying out for a change, but Demichelis opted to take out the forward and Nacho Fernández, the best until that moment. The modification is strange and bad because, it is insisted, the Little Devil did not give more. Nacional began to feel more comfortable with the process of the game, even though it was difficult for them to create danger.
In the second half River ran and that is why the figure of Rodrigo Aliendro was noticed, who was denied the celebration by the crossbar after a long rebound from goalkeeper Mejía. A good one for River: the entry of Manuel Lanzini was good.
COLLIDIO TO SETTLE: RIVER 2-0 NATIONAL.
📺 Watch CONMEBOL #Libertadores on #StarPlusLA pic.twitter.com/RAo90oQow9
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) April 12, 2024
The final minutes were suffering due to the shortness of the result. Until the last Colidio made it 2-0. And the Monumental was synonymous with relief and celebration.