On paper, they had the strongest squad in Argentina and were meant to be one of the main challengers for the Copa Libertadores. And they started well, with a 3-0 away victory over Colo Colo in Santiago. But on Thursday night / Friday morning (depending which side of the Atlantic you’re on), River Plate lost 3-1 away to Caracas of Venezuela, and have been dumped out in the group stage with a game still to go.
All the goals came in the first half, Caracas scoring first through a frankly ridiculous volley from man of the match José Rey. Ernesto Farías equalised for River with a header but the hosts then got two quickfire goals shortly afterwards from Wilson Carpintero and Habynson Escobar. In the 42nd minute, midfielders Franklin Lucena (Caracas) and Victor Zapata (River) clashed, and were both sent off.
In the second half, River attacked without imagination, making it very easy for Caracas to protect their advantage, and Farías embarked on an apparent attempt to break the world record for most shots scuffed wide by one player in one match. It would be easy to forget, by the way, that this result also sealed the hosts’ place in the second round, and was thus an historic result in the hitherto decidedly humble history of Venezuelan football – so congratulations to any Caracas fans reading.
Photo stolen from ole.clarin.com
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River fans won’t be enjoying this but neutrals will be happy for Caracas overcoming CONMEBOL’s ban on their stadium (because it is too small not because of any crowd troubles) and the sudden suspension of 4 starters about 30 hours before kickoff of this game against River. This Caracas victory sends them and Colo Colo to the next round and eliminates River and LDUQ. You have to give Caracas credit for beating the odds. As for River, they miss Radamel Falcao Garcia. Since his injury the team has really slumped. And will Fernando Belluschi appear?
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Brutal. Belluschi has been an imposter, Sambueza and Zapata continue to baffle, and Lussenhoff is the world’s slowest professional footballer. It was 2-1 to River in Santiago, if I recall correctly. A fantastic performance that one would have thought would have been the trickiest game of the group stages. River have no excuses, and Passarella will surely be paying for this with his job soon, especially as they continue to slide down the Clausura table.