Otamendi's River Plate debut couldn't have gone worse | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi's debut for River Plate was far from going the way the experienced centre-back had hoped. In the early hours of Saturday to Sunday, the Millonarios were beaten 1-0 at home by Barracas Central in the opening round of the Argentine Torneo Clausura, worsening the team's difficult spell, having now suffered a third defeat in their last four matches.

After his contract with Benfica ended and following an extended holiday period, Eduardo Coudet had no hesitation in starting the Argentine international and immediately handed him the captain's armband. However, the former Eagles player's performance ended up being marked by several unfortunate moments.

Just two minutes in, Otamendi was involved in the first controversial incident, going down in the penalty area and appealing for a penalty. The defender also responded to Rafael Barrios, who told him to get up, creating a moment of tension between the players.

Shortly afterwards, in the 14th minute, he was in the spotlight again, this time because of an error while playing out from the back. In an attempt to pass back to goalkeeper Santiago Beltrán, he gave the ball away to Gonzalo Morales, who found himself in an excellent position to score but ended up shooting into the side netting of the River Plate goal.

At the end of the match, Otamendi took responsibility for the team's situation and did not hide his frustration at yet another negative result: "I am part of this group, this team, and the responsibility is always ours. We have to keep working and show a different face."

The centre-back also lamented the way the opponent got the winning goal and had a message for the fans: "Today we tried, but from a sh** play, they scored against us. Overall, we tried and chased the game. I understand the people's frustration, because we are at the biggest club in Argentina. We have to keep stepping up, with personality, and do things properly", he said in comments to TNT Sports.

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