After a decidedly flat first leg where River found themselves deservedly punished, a big performance was needed in Belo Horizonte to overturn the deficit from the Monumental. Marcelo Gallardo got just that as his River side looked something like the team that were being lauded at the beginning of the 2014 Transición. Aided by a pitiful Cruzeiro side, River took full advantage and goals from Carlos Sánchez, Jonathan Maidana and Teo Gutiérrez sent them through to the semi final with ease.
River levelled the tie after nineteen minutes when the under pressure Gutiérrez split open the Brazilian defence with a superb threaded pass and Uruguayan Carlos Sánchez rifled the ball low past Fábio. With the match delicately balanced, River took the lead on the brink of half time when defender Jonathan Maidana towered above Manoel to send a powerful header into the top corner.
After the break there was little reaction from the home side and already needing two unanswered goals, Teo Gutiérrez put the result beyond doubt. With a wonderful piece of skill, the Colombian striker juggled the ball around defender Bruno Rodrigo before slotting the ball inside the far post. It capped off an excellent all-round performance from the temperamental forward, who in recent weeks has found his place in the starting eleven questioned.
Last night was the first time that River have produced anything like the level of performance that they are capable of in this year’s Libertadores and yet they now find themselves in the semi final. The competition breaks now for the Copa América before returning in July where a potential all-Argentine clash with Racing awaits.
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