There was no place for recent signings Lucas Pratto or Franco Armani but the need for further reinforcements was clear on Sunday afternoon as River Plate slipped to defeat against Independiente Santa Fe in Miami.

A poor first half display was punished by the Colombian side, who scored two simple goals but could have perhaps had an even more commanding lead. William Tesillo was left completely unmarked to steer the ball past Germán Lux from a free kick after quarter of an hour and Anderson Plata should have doubled the lead after nicking the ball from Leonardo Ponzio only to be denied one-on-one.

However, it wasn’t long before River were further behind when Enzo Pérez was robbed in midfield and a swift counter resulted in Jhon Pajoy slotting in a simple second.

Ignacio Scocco pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute with a smart finish from inside the penalty area but soon after Pérez was shown a red card and River tasted defeat.

Attention now switches to next weekend’s summer superclásico and aside from fielding his new additions, Marcelo Gallardo may hope for some more breakthroughs in the transfer market this week.