Federal A: Atlético Rafaela take the Clásico and seal qualification | OneFootball

El Celeste won 2-1 against 9 de Julio in the match that was repeated after 33 years and also secured their place in the playoffs for the first promotion and the next Copa Argentina. Next round, they will visit Sarmiento de La Banda. Meanwhile, the León will host Douglas Haig.

And one day, the Rafaela classic returned. Atlético de Rafaela and 9 de Julio faced each other again officially in the First Division. 33 years have passed since that 1992 Reválida. September 7, 2025, will go down in the history of Rafaela football for this clash between La Crema and the León. Matchday 8 of the Championship Zone of the Federal A Tournament. A special match. For the classic. For the reunion. And for what each team was playing for.

This weekend, Atlético arrived with a defeat in Salta and the need to secure their classification to the playoffs for the first promotion. 9 de Julio, on the other hand, maintained their hope, especially of qualifying for the Copa Argentina. A special encounter, no doubt, at the Monumental Stadium in the Alberdi neighborhood.

For this game, coach Iván Juárez made a change in the defense area. He waited until the last moment for Fernando Ponce, but the central defender did not even make it to the substitutes' bench, with his place taken by Enzo Wuattier. Thus, the eleven lined up with Emanuel Bilbao; Julián Fuyana, Gabriel Fernández, Nicolás Utrera, and Enzo Wuattier; Facundo Affranchino, Facundo Soloa, Juan Martín Capurro, and Agustín Pastorelli; Lucas Albertengo and Ciro Leineker.

On the visiting side, Marcelo Varela reinforced the midfield, placing three defensive midfielders and two players who had to cover the wings to support both defense and attack. The names were: Franco Fragueda; Maximiliano Martínez, Facundo Centurión, Tomás Androetto, Sebastián Acuña; Tobías Macíes, Facundo Maldonado, Alex Salcedo; Jeremías Bustos and Lautaro Ocampo; Enzo Abondetto.

The game started with the home team in control. Albertengo kicked off, and the first ball landed in Fragueda's area, which he controlled without problems. An image that would mark the beginning of the game, with Atlético positioning themselves near the rival area and 9 de Julio trying to intercept and counter quickly.

At five minutes, the first controversy of the afternoon arose with a free kick in favor of the albiceleste team. A cross from Agustín Pastorelli landed on Utrera's head, who was looking for Albertengo, who was skillfully contained by Martínez, an image overlooked by the referee of the day, José Díaz.

At 9', the visitors approached Bilbao's area through a corner kick. The cross could not be clearly connected by Centurión, who ended up passing it to La Crema's number '1'.

Three minutes after that first arrival of the León, the first blow of the afternoon came in the Alberdi neighborhood. Macíes was pressured in the exit by Affranchino, who won, started running, and assisted the great captain, who did not hesitate as he had throughout the season. Albertengo entered the area and shot first to make it 1-0.

The lead on the scoreboard before the first quarter of an hour showed two images. On one hand, Atlético's momentum and on the other, 9 de Julio's need to quickly seek an equalizer. Thus, at 15', from a long clearance by Bilbao, Affranchino could have extended the lead. The '10' controlled it and turned to shoot at the goal with Fragueda's controlled stretch.

The atmosphere heated up as the minutes passed. A strong foul by Bustos on Wuattier, which ended with a yellow card for the León's attacker, also led to the expulsion of Marcelo Varela, the visiting coach, for excessive verbal protest to the main referee.

At 24', the visitors approached the rival area, with Alex Salcedo shooting from mid-distance, resulting in a deflected shot and a corner kick. The León tried again at 28' with a free kick from Alex Salcedo that went over the crossbar.

When it seemed the visitors would get into the game with their approaches, the home team struck again. At 30' of the match, a long clearance found Pastorelli and Albertengo, who, with a subtle wall pass, left the '11' one-on-one with Fragueda's late exit to make it 2-0.

Approaching 40' of the first half, 9 de Julio tried again from a set piece. A new free kick at the edge of the area defended by Bilbao was taken by Alex Salcedo, though his shot was deflected by the wall. The León couldn't find the ball, and set pieces were their only way to threaten their rival.

At 42', Atlético had their chance for a third goal, with another arrival from Albertengo, who shot across and was saved by Fragueda.

At the start of the second half, 9 de Julio came out with renewed energy to play the game, including the first natural shot on goal, with a shot from Enzo Abondetto a minute into the second half that went just over the crossbar.

In response, Atlético had their chance to score at 4' with a free kick from Pastorelli that was connected by the substitute Agustín Alfano - who replaced an injured Leineker - forcing Fragueda to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Without clear dangerous situations from either side, the game became monotonous and scrappy. Atlético appeared calm and prioritized controlling different areas of the field. 9 de Julio's promising start lasted only a moment.

The changes seemed ineffective for the visitors as they approached the half-hour mark of the second half. Marcelo Varela's team was already relying on long clearances for their attackers to bring down at the edge of the area, though without much success. Meanwhile, the team winning on the already cold Sunday afternoon was waiting for a counterattack opportunity to seal the story.

At 31', Atlético regained possession, and through Enzo Wuattier, they could have scored a third. The left-back received the ball and advanced down his side, cutting inside and shooting from within the area to once again test Fragueda, who was responsible for 9 de Julio only losing by two goals.

At 34', Wuattier would again be involved in a new situation, but now negatively for La Crema. Because after receiving a foul, the '3' received a direct red card for reacting from the ground to a stomp by Centurión not seen by the match referee.

The extra man seemed to give 9 de Julio new energy as they approached Bilbao's area, with a shot from "Mariachi" Ibáñez - one of several substitutes - that went wide of the left post. Next, Nicolás Del Solé had a chance, entering the area and shooting across with Bilbao's effort falling short. The ball went just wide.

There were only five minutes left in the classic, and that unusual expulsion of Wuattier sparked a reaction from 9 de Julio, who until then had not tested Bilbao. Meanwhile, Atlético couldn't find the ball to bring calm to the story unfolding in the Alberdi neighborhood.

9 de Julio pushed so much that at 42', they found a goal. While Atlético's stands were celebrating, Bilbao lost sight and found the ball inside his area when Sebastián Acuña tried to send a cross, and a deflection by Matías Martínez - who replaced Lucas Albertengo - made the score 2-1. After the goal, the match referee decided to stop the game.

At 47', the visitors had a chance to equalize through Androetto, who couldn't accurately connect a cross from the right. A minute later, 9 de Julio suffered the expulsion of Facundo Centurión for a second yellow card.

The story went no further, and Díaz called for the ball. Atlético won in the Alberdi neighborhood. The First Division classic after 33 years of waiting went to La Crema, who dominated their rival in the first half and held on in the second. Iván Juárez's team won the match and secured their spot in the Playoffs.

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