Juan Fernando Quintero had another demonstration of his talent. River Plate beat Banfield 1-2 for the tenth round of Group A in the Argentine League Cup at the Florencio Sola stadium. The Colombian midfielder started the match as a substitute, came on in the second half and assisted the winning goal.
Goal options in the first half were few for both teams. The Millionaire was the owner of the possession of the ball, but the locals fought as best they could to avoid danger in the goal guarded by Enrique Bologna, which was seldom required.
At minute 24, Drill opened the scoring taking advantage an error by Franco Armani, who tried to cut a cross from the side, but the ball slipped out of his hands and fell to Amos Jeremías Peraleswho only had to push the ball to get the first goal in Lomas de Zamora.
At minute 53 came the equalizing goal. The central judge, after reviewing the VAR, decreed a penalty in favor of River Plate for Franco Quinteros’ handball inside the area. Enzo Fernández asked for the ball and determinedly charged the right post of goalkeeper Enrique Bologna Although he guessed the direction of the shot, he was unable to stop it.
Five minutes later, Marcelo Gallardo gave entry to ’10’. Juan Fernando Quintero replaced Santiago Simón to give a new face to the attacking front of the Núñez club. The creation midfielder had the opportunity with a shot inside the area which was stopped by the Banfield goalkeeper in two halves.
El Millonario equalized at minute 66 with a spectacular play by Juanfer, who showed all his talent. The Colombian first made a wall with a teammate and later leaked a pass to Matías Suárez who defined the angle with quality, while the ball entered from the bar.
With the entry of Quintero, River Plate improved and began to generate more scoring options. The Antioquian midfielder put his teammates to play and complicated the Verdiblanca defense, what served him to be considered in the figure of the party. With 10 minutes remaining in the match, the locals were left with 10 after the expulsion of Luciano Lollo.
With this result, River remains in second place in the standings with 22 points 2 units from the leader of Group A, which is Racing. Banfield meanwhile is eighth. On the next day, Quintero’s team will face Talleres de Córdoba led by Rafael Pérez, Diego Valoyes and Emerson Batalla.
