River Plate beat Gremio to reach Libertadores Cup final
SAO PAULO: River Plate of Argentina reached the final of the South American Cup after shocking defending champions Gremio of Brazil, setting up a possible championship match between two Argentine teams in the Libertadores Cup for the first time in history.
River beat the Brazilians 2-1 in Porto Alegre and advanced on the away goals rule to their first South American final since 2015. Last week, River lost 1-0 to Gremio in Buenos Aires.
Midfielder Pity Martinez scored the decisive goal in stoppage time after the referee awarded River a penalty following a video review that confirmed a handball by defender Matheus Bressan.
Leonardo scored for Gremio in the 36th minute and had a clear chance with Everton squandering an opportunity face to face against goalkeeper Franco Armani to make it 2-0 for the hosts at 66 minutes.
But River tied it in the 81st minute with a header by Colombian striker Rafael Borre, after a cross by Martinez, putting more pressure on the defending champions.
After the match Gremio players said that goal should have been disallowed because of a Borre handball.
“We were the only team on the pitch in the first half. They only had long balls.
“We had power and strategy. That’s why other teams respect us,” Martinez said.
River’s victory came amid some controversy. Footage at Arena do Gremio showed coach Marcelo Gallardo entering his team’s locker room at half-time despite his suspension for the game.
“Come, come, take a good picture,” Gallardo told journalists as he left the locker room.
The coach was suspended for one game by South America’s football body because of constant delays by his team to return to the pitch after the first 45 minutes of several matches.
Coaching assistant Matias Biscay, who replaced Gallardo, said the coach convinced River players
they could turn the tables during the half-time talk when the score was 1-0 for the Brazilians.
“The players saw they could come back, even before they entered the locker room.
“Marcelo convinced that this win could not escape,” Biscay said in a press conference.
Gremio coach Renato Portaluppi said his team were “robbed” by the video assisted referee (VAR) referee but not because of the penalty awarded to the Argentines.
He believes River’s Borre intentionally touched the ball with the hand as he scored River’s first goal.
“I would rather lose 5-0 than lose it like this. I can’t blame the referee on the pitch but I can blame the VAR referee,” Portaluppi said.
“Who was taking care of VAR? Was it Stevie Wonder? Everyone else saw it.”