River didn't shine but celebrated in Río Cuarto and went top | OneFootball

In a scrappy match with little brilliance, River Plate secured a vital victory on their visit to Estudiantes de Río Cuarto by winning 2-0 in Matchday 12 of the 2026 Torneo Apertura. With this result, the team led by Eduardo “Chacho” Coudet maintains a perfect record under his management (3 out of 3) and climbs to the top of Zone B with 20 points.

A Forced Affair

The “Millonario” struggled to assert their superiority in the Imperio del Sur. After a first half with few highlights—where only a free kick from Marcos Acuña and a powerful shot from Aníbal Moreno stood out—the deadlock seemed unbreakable. The home side even managed to score through Tomás González, but the goal was disallowed by VAR after a lengthy review for offside.

The Goals of the Victory

The deadlock was broken at the 24th minute of the second half. A foul on Sebastián Driussi inside the box was called as a penalty, and the experienced Gonzalo Montiel made no mistake with a cross-shot that fooled goalkeeper Lastra.

Estudiantes pushed for an equalizer with more determination than football and had clear chances through Rosane and Ojeda, but their lack of accuracy proved costly. In the ninth minute of stoppage time, with the home side fully committed to attack, Maximiliano Salas took advantage of a lethal counterattack: he ran from midfield and finished with class to seal the definitive 2-0.

Present and Future

While River celebrates their shared lead, the outlook for the “León” is critical: they remain at the bottom of the annual table with just 4 points. In the next round, Coudet’s team will host Belgrano, while Estudiantes will visit Aldosivi in a “final” for survival.

MATCH SUMMARY

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