Sporting Cristal went onto the Monumental turf to play a one-on-one against River Plate and ended up paying dearly for it. Although the first minutes of the game were dreamy for the players led by Tiago Nunes, the local team was fine in front of Solís’ goal and clinched victory (4-2) for the second game of Group D of the Copa Libertadores.
The Rimenses silenced the Argentine colossus after 6 minutes when Da Silva seemed to put a good front into the box after a great Alarcón free-kick, impossible for Armani who could only see the ball.
The joy didn’t last long as the locals didn’t give up and sought an equalizer, scoring through Nicolás de la Cruz in the 18th minute. The goal filled River with confidence as they pressed and managed to extend the lead to 35 minutes through Ezequiel Barco. However, the intensity of the game resulted in the Sky Blues creating the perfect combination before the end of the first half. Corozo went alone to finish against Armani, but Díaz tripped him just before entering the pits. Referee Ospina didn’t hesitate and showed him the red card. Upon collecting the free kick, Corozo took the ball and scored a great goal.
In the plugin, the story was different. The changes worked for Demichelis and the Peru team couldn’t resist. The first minutes were tight but Barco scored again after 52′ and Pablo Solari scored the fourth goal after 61′ to seal the game. On the next date, Cristal gets The Strongest.