Estudiantes sink la Lepra at the Coloso before the Clásico | OneFootball

Estudiantes de La Plata secured a vital victory at the Coloso Marcelo Bielsa by defeating Newell’s Old Boys 2-0 in the seventh round of the Apertura Tournament 2026. After a balanced first half, the team led by Alexander Medina managed to break the deadlock in the second half thanks to their offensive efficiency. With this result, the "Pincha" reaches 15 points and shares the group leadership with Vélez, while the "Lepra" sinks to the bottom of the table with just two points.

The start of the match showed the visitors more incisive, especially through Adolfo Gaich, who threatened at 21′ with a low shot controlled by Gabriel Arias and again at 32′ with a header that went just wide. Newell’s managed to react towards the end of the first half with two clear chances from Walter Núñez and Luciano Herrera, but they lacked accuracy to break the deadlock before the break.

In the second half, the team from La Plata did not forgive. At 6′, Tiago Palacios took advantage of an error in the local defenders' exit, recovered the ball, and unleashed an unstoppable left-footed shot to open the scoring. The visitors' dominance increased as the minutes passed; Estudiantes hit the crossbar twice through Tobías Palacios and Fabricio Pérez, until finally at 35′, Pérez himself sealed the victory with a great individual play that ended in a right-footed shot close to the post.

Near the end, the post again denied Medina's team a goal after an attempt by Mikel Amondarain at 48′. With the satisfaction of a job well done, the "León" now focuses on the top-of-the-table clash against Vélez next Monday. Meanwhile, the team from Rosario must quickly recover from their institutional and sporting crisis to face the Classic against Rosario Central on Sunday, March 1.

Match Summary

Newell’s: Gabriel Arias; Armando Méndez, Bruno Cabrera, Nicolás Goitia, Jerónimo Russo; Luca Regiardo, David Sotelo; Facundo Guch, Valentino Acuña, Walter Núñez; Luciano Herrera. Coach: Lucas Bernardi.

Estudiantes: Fernando Muslera; Eric Meza, Leandro Gonzales Pirez, Tomás Palacios, Gastón Benedetti; Ezequiel Piovi, Mikel Amondarain; Tiago Palacios, Fabricio Pérez, Brian Aguirre; Adolfo Gaich. Coach: Alexander Medina.

Goals in the second half: 6′ Tiago Palacios (E) and 36′ Fabricio Pérez (E).

Substitutions in the second half: 15′ Gabriel Risso Patrón for Jerónimo Russo (N), Michael Hoyos for Walter Núñez (N) and Francisco Scarpeccio for Luciano Herrera (N); Edwin Cetré for Brian Aguirre (E); 27′ Eros Mancuso for Eric Meza (E) and Joaquín Tobio Burgos for Tiago Palacios (E); Williams Barlasina for Gabriel Arias (N); 30′ Federico Farías for Fabricio Pérez (E) and Lucas Alario for Adolfo Gaich (E).

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