Gimnasia see off Vélez, dreaming of the playoffs in the Torneo Clausura | OneFootball

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata secured a crucial 2-0 victory against Vélez at the Juan Carmelo Zerillo stadium, as part of the fifteenth round of the Torneo Clausura of the Professional League.

The goals for the "Lobo" were scored by Marcelo Torres and Jeremías Merlo, on a day when the team from La Plata is hopeful of making it to the playoffs with one round remaining.

The team led by Fernando Zaniratto showed solidity and character in one of the most important matches of the year. With an intense first half, Gimnasia took control of the game and opened the scoring at the 33rd minute with a powerful shot by Torres.

In the second half, the home team withstood Vélez's dangerous attacks and capitalized on a perfect counterattack for Merlo to seal the 2-0 result at the 22nd minute of the second half after a mistake by the "Fortín".

Beyond the good football performance, the match was marked by a tense incident in the first half, when referee Yael Falcón Pérez was attacked with a hammer thrown from the stands and assistant referee Mariana de Almeida suffered the impact of a stun grenade. Nevertheless, the match continued, and the police managed to find the person responsible for throwing the object at Falcón Pérez.

With this victory, Gimnasia reached 19 points and is positioned tenth in Zone A, with the same points as Sarmiento and San Martín de San Juan, although with a lower goal difference. Thus, they keep the hope of making it to the playoffs in the next round when they visit Platense at the Ciudad de Vicente López stadium.

As for Vélez, already qualified for the next stage, the team of Guillermo Barros Schelotto will aim to finish the Clausura with a good impression when they host River in Liniers.

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