In the south, on the fourth matchday of the Professional League Cup, River Plate went onto the playing field in order to reaffirm its good streak, after its two victories over Rosario Central and Godoy Cruz. Right after the match began, Cristian Ferreira tried shooting a precise free kick that was slightly deflected by Mauricio Arboleda’s right goalpost.

El Millionario took the reins of the match during the first minutes, even though it found it difficult to threaten the rival goal. Nacho Fernández, who reappeared after his injury, also got close by means of a shot that didn’t cause many problems. Banfield woke up after being awarded a penalty kick, but Luciano Lollo’s shot was very deflected.

At the beginning of the second half, the home team threatened with a clear approach by Emanuel Coronel, who ran up on the right and fired a shot that passed near the first goalpost. Then Nacho scored, catching a header from Robert Rojas in a second play and setting the score at 1-0 for el Millionario. From then onwards, River handled the ball well and was practically undisturbed.

Banfield could have evened the score by means of a header by Giuliano Galoppo, but Enrique Bologna gave an excellent response, blocking the shot with his hand on his right. In the next play, Matías Suárez couldn’t score out of a one-on-one, but after the corner kick, the second goal was scored: a great header by Rojas widened el Millionario’s lead.

With this victory, River reached the top of the group with nine points, like Banfield. Next matchday, el Muñeco’s team will visit Central in Arroyito, seeking its qualification for the Cup’s next stage.