The great escape? Argentinos give themselves hope with victory over Vélez

Saturday’s Primera action may have thrown up a couple of surprises but the wider implications could be huge. First up, Estudiantes leapt to the top of the table with a win over Quilmes, prompting Quilmes boss, Caruso Lombardi to say “I can’t do more, I am human” and hand in his resignation. Never fear though, after a little chat with the board, less than 24 hours later the ‘crazy one’ is back, at least for the 6 games remaining this season after which, they could well be relegated. Then, in La Paternal, Argentinos Juniors stunned Vélez Sarsfield to provide some hope in their efforts to remain in the Primera and derail Vélez’s title bid, and all without the missing Leonardo Pisculichi! Olimpo still hover above the drop zone after a 1-1 draw in Avellaneda with Racing Club who are now 5 without loss and finally, Lanús thumped San Lorenzo 4-1, fresh from both sides Libertadores exploits. Edgardo Bauza admitted there was no excuse for such a result but either way, Lanús leapfrogged their crestfallen opponents into second. WATCH ALL THE GOALS….

Quilmes  1 – 3  Estudiantes
The combination of a sturdy defence, an excellent young goalkeeper in Gerómino Rulli and a regular goal scorer in Guido Carrillo have done wonders for Estudiantes this season and sadly for Quilmes were a little too much on Saturday afternoon.
Carrillo tapped Mauricio Pellegrino’s side in front but Fernando Telechea finished off an excellent move to bring Quilmes level. Parity lasted only a couple of minutes though as Jonathan Silva absolutely smashed a free kick from miles out which took a slight deflection on the way before ricocheting off the past and in off the back of the unlucky, Silvio Dulcich.
Carrillo added a simple third not long after the break and Estudiantes held on for the win, in part thanks to Rulli’s penalty save 10 minutes from time.

Argentinos Juniors  2 – 1  Vélez Sarsfield
Without Leonardo Pisculichi I did not hold out much hope for Argentinos given that he scored 4 of the 5 goals scored by the side before the match, and assisted the other. However, my reservations were ill-judged as Claudio Borghi’s side shocked the title contenders with a last gasp winner.
Juan Ramirez stooped to nod Los Bichos in front just minutes into the second half but Roberto Nanni’s fine volley brought Vélez level. A point would not have been much help to Argentinos given their bleak situation but 3 minutes into stoppage time, Pablo Barzola pounced on some hesitant defending and scored a dramatic winning goal.

Racing Club  1 – 1  Olimpo
Olimpo still need to be very careful in their current position but they could not have been gifted a better start to a match than they were in Avellaneda last night. Some dreadful passing in the Racing defence allowed José Valencia to intercept and bear down on Sebastián Saja and in spite of his heavy touch, Saja’s attempted clearance smacked into the striker and into the net.
However, Racing, unbeaten in five, seem to made of sturdier stuff these days and Gastón Campi pulled them level shortly after.

San Lorenzo  1 – 4  Lanús
Perhaps still stunned from their unbelievable Libertadores qualification in midweek, San Lorenzo failed to turn up last night in El Nuevo Gasómetro and Lanús gratefully took advantage. Given that San Lorenzo were unbeaten in 16 at home prior to this and the four goals that Lanús plundered equaled the amount conceded during that entire run, this came as some surprise (thanks to @datafutarg as always with the superb stats).
Marcos Astina and Jorge Valdez Chamorro fired Lanús into a first half lead and although Enzo Kalinski pulled one back, an excellent Diego González strike and a second Chamorro goal gave Lanús an impressive victory.