Independiente won 2-0 against Lanús with a tremendous goal from Matías Abaldo and another goal from Gabriel Ávalos at the Libertadores de América-RicardoEnrique Bochini Stadium for the fifth date of Zone A of the Apertura Tournament.The winner achieved his second consecutive victory after the victory against Platense in Vicente López, he did not lose in this start and put an end to the undefeated rival.In the last minutes, Luciano Cabral was correctly sent off at the request of the VAR.
Rojo lateralized the game during the first half in search of finding the gaps to attack a well-closed Garnet on the last line, but showed many complications to translate these advances into clear arrivals at Nahuel Losada’s goal.
The most important part of the initial half hour was the two isolated advances of Gabriel Ávalos.The attacker tried a deflected header and, later, took advantage of a defensive inattention on the side to control his chest and hit a deflected shot from a half-turn in the area.At the close, Facundo Zabala tried from outside, Santiago Montiel made a shot in the vicinity of the area and Ávalos again tried a header without success in the last play, but neither attempt led to a save by Losada.
The main pending issue for Mauricio Pellegrino’s team was the offensive aspect, since the visit did not register attacks against Rodrigo Rey and it was difficult for them to cross the middle of the field.The departures of Marcelino Moreno and RodrigoCastillo, two of Pellegrino’s four changes for this match, took away his generation of play and definition in the final third and their replacements (FrancoWatson and Walter Bou) were far from providing the same characteristics.
These modifications, to which Ronaldo Dejesús and Felipe Peña Biafore are added by Carlos Izquierdoz and Agustín Medina, occurred because the Sur team will play the first leg of the Recopa Sudamericana next Thursday from 9:30 p.m. (Argentine time) against Flamengo.The club also organized flights and buses for fans to accompany the team in the return duel in Rio de Janeiro.
On the other hand, coach Gustavo Quinteros sought to give confidence to the starters who achieved the first victory of the championship against Platense with the exception of the return of Sebastián Valdez instead of Juan Fedorco.
One of those who retained ownership was Kevin Lomónaco, who was in the news during the week both for his physical recovery and for his contractual situation.The defender, wanted by Atlético Mineiro, trained alongside the group and was from the beginning against Granate.Regarding his future, the defender had expressed in the preview: “The affection of the people fills my soul. If there is not something that convinces me and is good for my future, I am going to continue at Independiente. I know the kind of institution I am in and I try to return the affection on the field.”
The beginning of the second half had a similar tone to the first half because Independiente continued with the initiative, but registered greater inaccuracies and the substitution of Santiago Montiel due to a physical ailment seemed to take away a very important option on offense.But at that moment, Matías Abaldo was activated, who had not had a good game, but he got rid of two rivals in a rush and, from the left corner of the area, nailed a tremendous right hand against a post to seal the 1-0 at 56 minutes.
The openness of the result dealt an immediate blow to the CopaSudamericana champion, who neglected the tactical rigor that had ensured a clean sweep in the initial act.A cross from Lautaro Millán at 62′ on the right side of the area found a lone Gabriel Ávalos, who sneaked behind Dejesús and executed a header to send the ball to the back of the net.
The changes made by Pellegrino did not alter the equation in Avellaneda and the Quinteros squad took away the undefeated record.The setback even made him reach his third match without victories because he beat San Lorenzo and Unión in the premiere and tied two consecutive duels against Instituto and Talleres.In addition, Rojolo surpassed the table and is placed in second place with nine points, behind the leader Vélez (10) with the entire date to complete.
When everything seemed to end without incident, Luciano Cabral committed an aggressive foul on Dylan Aquino in added time and the referee, Facundo Tello, showed him the red card at the request of the VAR, after a call from JoséCarreras to review the action.Beyond the numerical inferiority, the home team reached 3-0, but Abaldo’s double was annulled by a correct offside.
On the next day, Independiente will visit Mendoza to face Independiente Rivadavia this Thursday starting at 7:30 p.m., while Lanús will prepare the first clash with Flamengo during the week.
Stadium: Libertadores de América-Ricardo Enrique Bochini (Avellaneda)
Referee: Facundo Tello / VAR: José Carreras
