The penultimate round of the 2011 Torneo Apertura ended on Thursday night with wins for Independiente and Vélez Sarsfield against San Lorenzo and Tigre respectively. On Wednesday, Arsenal de Sarandí became the first side all season to score twice against Boca Juniors – but still couldn’t beat them – and Colón won 1-0 away to Godoy Cruz to throw the race for the fourth Copa Libertadores qualification spot wide open. All Wednesday’s and Thursday’s goals are here, along with the permutations for the continental race. We’ve also got Alejandro Domínguez’s goal, which put River Plate through to the round of 32 in the Copa Argentina due to a 1-0 win over Defensores in San Juan.
Primera División Torneo Apertura 2011, eighteenth round
Club Atlético All Boys (M. Zapata 12) 1 – 0 Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors (N. Berardo OFF 69)
Club Olimpo 0 – 0 Club Estudiantes de La Plata
Club Atlético Unión (J. Barrales OFF 46) 0 – 1 Club Atlético Lanús (M. Fritzler 15)
Racing Club (T. Gutiérrez 49) 1 – 0 Asociación Mutual Social y Deportiva Atlético de Rafaela
Arsenal Fútbol Club (G. Burdisso 46; A. Orión OG 54) 2 – 2 Club Atlético Boca Juniors (W. Erviti 39; C. Chávez 70)
Club Deportivo Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba 0 – 1 Club Atlético Colón (F. Higuaín 46)
Club Atlético Newell’s Old Boys 0 – 0 Club Atlético San Martín de San Juan
Club Atlético Banfield 0 – 2 Club Atlético Belgrano (C. Pereyra 12, 24)
Club Atlético Tigre (D. Morales 43) 1 – 3 Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield (D. Ramírez 29; A. Fernández 34; G. Franco 60)
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro 0 – 1 Club Atlético Independiente (M. Benítez 77)
Arsenal 2 – 2 Boca
Godoy Cruz 0 – 1 Colón
Banfield 0 – 2 Belgrano
Tigre 1 – 3 Vélez
San Lorenzo 0 – 1 Independiente
These results mean that with one match left, Godoy Cruz are in the final Libertadores qualification spot, with 55 points. Racing have 54, and Independiente 53. Tigre, on 52, have a chance mathematically, but it’s highly unlikely. The final round will see Racing visit Vélez on Sunday. If they win that, they’ll need Godoy Cruz to fail to win, when they visit Rafaela. The complicating factor is that the last round also sees Independiente host Tigre. If Racing fail to beat Vélez beforehand, then, those final matches on Monday night could turn into a three-way playoff for the final Libertadores spot. Watch this space.
Copa Argentina round of 64: River Plate 1 – 0 Defensores de Belgrano
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Hasta El Gol Siempre 