A defeat that does not change the second place that River it already had, but it does affect the blurred football image that it has not been able to banish for a long time, except in very fleeting moments, insufficient to raise the enthusiasm of its fans, who once again made the punishment of whistles thunder.
Second fall of the “Chacho” Coudet cycle, again at the Monumental, as against Boca, with the difference that Atlético Tucumán had not won as a visitor in 22 games, since January 2025, and was no longer fighting for qualification to the play-offs. And 22 are the matches that River accumulates without being able to reverse a disadvantage, a holdup that it carries from the time of Marcelo Gallardo. A local defeat that goes back to those suffered with Sarmiento, Riestra and Gimnasia La Plata.
Next weekend, River will be home for the round of 16, probably against San Lorenzo, unless Defensa y Justicia beats Gimnasia this Monday in Mendoza by two goals difference. Before, on Thursday, in Caracas they will have a crucial clash against Carabobo for first place in the area in the South American Cup.
The calendar is tight and River can see how tight its resources are. With what he has, it is difficult for him to cover the double competition, with three commitments in one week between the domestic front and the Copa Sudamericana. The last date of the group stage was presented as a transition step, since no result was going to change the second place in Zone B, although now there is the stimulus of the Annual Table headed by Independiente Rivadavia.
Coudet appealed to rotation, a mix between those who have been starters and others who must wait longer to have a chance. reappeared Maximiliamo Meza, after almost six months off the field due to an avulsion of the left patellar tendon suffered in La Bombonera, in November. Unlike the location that Gallardo assigned him, he now integrated the double pivot with Moreno, in the role of starting the game and distributing the ball. With a fairly accurate criterion for the pass, he hid at the beginning the long inactivity and the possible lack of rhythm. The eldest of the Meza brothers likes to arrive and step into the area, a surprise factor to compensate for the team’s lack of ingenuity.
Atlético Tucumán arrived at the Monumental knowing the problems that River has in deciphering and finding solutions to closed issues. Falcioni is an old fox on the board, he doesn’t need anyone to come and explain to him what it means to join the lines on the field, close spaces and bet on the counterattack. The local team was going to need mobility, precision and a good sequence of passes. And anticipation and reaction to guard against Tucuman counterattacks. It is not new that River has difficulties responding to this demand. The transition from intention to concreteness is full of potholes and imperfections. You can’t blame him for lack of will, but you can blame him for poor football support.
The faint hints of a shot by Bustos – after a good double wall – and an incursion by Meza were followed by Atlético’s first and deep attack. River was very exposed when he had to defend in the open field. Moreno failed, Pezzella was portrayed in his slowness before a waist break by Nicola and Tesuri appeared in the center to define before the disbandment of the local defense. They were less than 20 minutes away and River was getting complicated on its own.
Under pressure and in a forced manner, River came forward with a half turn from the dull Ruberto, a definition from Pezzella over the crossbar and another from Subiabre that went high after a bad start by Ingolotti. No situation was as clear as the one-on-one that Beltrán covered for Leandro Díaz. The whistles accompanied the players when they went to rest.
Highlights of River 0 – Atlético Tucumán 1
Changes were necessary and Coudet added three when he returned from the locker room: Salas, Páez and the debutant Lautaro Pereyra, who did not take even a couple of minutes to provide a fresh air. At 18 years old, with the characteristics of an offensive midfielder, the kid from Florida did what is unusual in this River: successfully dribble in hot areas. Thus he avoided two rivals inside the area and took a shot that came out next to a post. After a while he showed another example of skill and the ball served him for the tie that Páez wasted.
Juanfer Quintero entered, who has more space in the fans’ affection than in Chacho’s football consideration. River’s nervousness grew in the same proportion as the clock advanced. A header from an awkward position by Salas hit the crossbar. The lightness of some players, with Páez at the helm, and the inaccuracies made the fans increasingly impatient. Atlético did not have such a bad time between its solid defensive block and the delays in resuming the game. “Loco” Díaz put the hard work of his teammates at risk with the imprudence of touching the ball with an elbow in his area, but neither for Falcón Pérez, with a weak general task, nor for the VAR was there a penalty.
River languished, almost accepting defeat as an inevitable destiny. The starters did not measure up and the replacement did not deserve to earn a place. A heavy combo that sinks. “We played a bad game, we did not have clarity nor did we generate goal situations,” acknowledged captain Pezzella, whose conceptual precision in the microphones does not accompany him on the field with the responses that the high level demands. “Very bad, it was the worst game,” Coudet admitted.
After the important victory in Brazil against Bragantino, Coudet spoke about the football rigidity of his team, about how difficult it is for him to let go. Against Atlético Tucumán that diagnosis became more acute, as did the concern of facing another lost semester.
