Apertura 2026: Sarmiento edge Banfield at home in fiery clash | OneFootball

Sarmiento defeated Banfield 1-0 at the Eva Perón stadium, in a match with few goal-scoring opportunities that was decided by a penalty. The match corresponded to the second round of Zone B of the 2026 Apertura Tournament.

The only goal of the night was scored by forward Diego Churín, who converted from the penalty spot in the sixth minute of stoppage time in the first half. Additionally, the visiting team suffered the expulsion of defender Nicolás Meriano at the 43rd minute of the first half.

With this victory, the "Verde" is placed seventh in their zone with three points, while the "Taladro," coached by Pedro Troglio, fell to the eleventh place with just one point.

In the next round, Sarmiento will visit Independiente Rivadavia in Mendoza on Tuesday, February 3rd at 21:15, and Banfield will host Estudiantes de Río Cuarto the same day starting at 19:00.

Match Details

The first half had few thrills until the end. At 7', Jhon Rentería had an early warning for Sarmiento with a low shot. Banfield responded at 16' with a free kick from Ignacio Abraham that goalkeeper Javier Burrai deflected.

The key moment came at 43': after a corner, a hold by Nicolás Meriano resulted in his expulsion and a penalty for the home team. Churín converted it into a goal at 51'.

In the second half, Banfield tried with a shot from Mauro Méndez a few minutes in. Sarmiento had chances to seal it near the end with shots from Julián Contrera and a one-on-one from Junior Marabel that goalkeeper Facundo Sanguinetti managed to save.

Match Summary

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.