River Plate secured a valuable 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors this Sunday in the latest edition of the Argentine Superclásico, a match valid for the fifteenth round of the Torneo Apertura of Argentine football.

Key goals and historic victory

With goals from Franco Mastantuono and Sebastián Driussi, El Millonario brought immense joy to their fans in the Estadio Monumental, which hosted the largest crowd in its history: 85,018 spectators. Boca Juniors, on the other hand, managed to equalize temporarily through Miguel Ángel Merentiel, from Uruguay.

With this win, River Plate climbed to third place in Group B with 28 points, just four behind leaders Rosario Central, while Boca Juniors remains at the top of Zone A with 32 points, despite the defeat.

Clear dominance by River Plate

The match saw a clear dominator from the start, with River Plate, coached by Marcelo Gallardo, determined to secure a clear win over their classic rivals. In the first fifteen minutes, River Plate had three clear header opportunities from Giuliano Galoppo, Franco Mastantuono, and Facundo Colidio, but all were saved by Agustín Marchesín, who was well-positioned.

Meanwhile, Boca was on the defensive from the beginning, and by the 23rd minute, they had three players already booked: Tomás Belmonte, Ayrton Costa, and Marcos Rojo. The latter received a yellow card for a rough tackle on Sebastián Driussi, and from that free kick, the ‘young wonder’ Franco Mastantuono executed a masterful shot that found the top left corner of Marchesín’s goal, opening the score.

Boca’s response and Driussi’s goal

River Plate maintained territorial superiority and possession, but in the 37th minute, a frontal shot found a poorly cleared ball by Germán Pezzella, which allowed Miguel Ángel Merentiel to get on the run and finish crosswise to level the score.

However, in the 44th minute, a cross from Marcos Acuña found Sebastián Driussi, whose header was saved by Marchesín, but the rebound fell right to Driussi, who tapped the ball into the net to give the lead back to the home team.

Victory sealed by Armani

In the second half, River Plate sat back to play on the counter, while Boca Juniors tried to push forward. However, the best chances still belonged to the home side to extend their lead. In the 52nd minute, a cut-back cross from substitute Fabricio Bustos ended with a shot from Sebastián Driussi that flew over the crossbar. Six minutes later, a misdirected shot by Miton Delgado left Franco Mastantuono in a good position, but he chose to shoot wide instead of passing to Facundo Colidio, who was arriving unmarked at the goal.

Boca strung together some good passes but lacked depth, and coach Fernando Gago took too long to make changes in search of answers. Towards the end, Franco Armani emerged as the hero, saving twice to preserve the win for River Plate, sparking celebrations from the fans as they defeated their eternal rivals Boca Juniors at home.

Head-to-head history

The two biggest clubs in Argentina now have a history of 264 encounters, with Boca winning 92 times, River winning 88, and 84 matches ending in a draw.