It hasn’t been the easiest of starts to 2015 for Marcelo Gallardo’s River as they have looked vulnerable in the league and are winless in the Libertadores but on Sunday afternoon in the Estadio Monumental they celebrated a significant victory over San Lorenzo. The meetings between the ‘Big Five’ are always important but with San Lorenzo sitting top of the league, River just three points behind but ahead of a colossal week in the Libertadores this one had a further edge. If River had lost, the word crisis would have begun to be heard, but in victory it is a sign that River are back in business.
A heavily rotated River side, given the magnitude of the match against Tigres in Nuevo León on Wednesday, could ill-afford to blemish their unbeaten start to the season against San Lorenzo. However, Gallardo’s young side that drew heavily from River’s academy acquitted themselves superbly and were the better side for much of the match.
The only goal came just three minutes after the break and it was the familiar source of Carlos Sánchez who provided it. Ariel Rojas drove the ball across the six-yard box and the Uruguayan arrived, as he does so often, to steer the ball past Sebastián Torrico.
San Lorenzo pushed for an equaliser late on but Marcelo Barovero was able to keep Los Cuervos at bay to register an important win for River. The focus quickly shifts now to the trip to México on Wednesday; lose against Tigres and the word crisis appears on the horizon again.
golazo argentino 