racing won tonight as a visitor to Lanus by 2 to 0, in the continuity of date 13 of the Professional League Cupand was the leader of Zone B along with Godoy Cruz, close to qualifying for both the Final Phase and the Copa Sudamericana.
The goals were scored by midfielder Baltasar Rodríguez, 25 minutes into the first half, and by Gonzalo Piovi, from a penalty, when the eighth minute of injury time was running out in the initial stage.
In the “Granate” defenders Cristian Lema and the Paraguayan José Canale were sent off, both in the penalty play.
After a few initial minutes with disputed dominance, where Racing tried a little more with projections from midfielder Juan Nardoni and an open Gabriel Hauche on the right wing, it was midfielder Baltasar Rodríguez who unbalanced the proceedings with a mid-distance shot.
At 25 minutes, the 20-year-old from Monterrey started a run from midfield, advanced against a passive mark from the “Granate” defense and finished accurately to make it 1-0.
Faced with the disadvantage, those led by Ricardo Zielinski reacted with the individuality of the attackers Pedro De la Vega and Lautaro Acosta, but they made little trouble for goalkeeper Gabriel Arias.
The danger came in the 31st minute through a dead ball cross executed by midfielder Matías Esquivel and connected by defender Cristian Lema, which hit the crossbar against a defeated Arias.
From there, the “Academy” regained control of the game and possession of the ball, until an unusual play occurred towards the end of the initial stage.
The Paraguayan center José Canale struck a blow in the face of Colombian scorer Roger Martínez inside the area, on a ball that did not represent danger, since it was in the hands of goalkeeper Lucas Acosta.
After reviewing the VAR, judge Fernando Rapallini sanctioned a penalty for Racing and sent off Canale, but, when the full-back Gonzalo Piovi was settling in to kick, Lema hit Martínez again at the door of the area.
The other central defender of the local team was also sent off and Piovi scored the second “academic” goal, so Lanús went to half-time with two goals against and two players less.
For the complement, Zielinski reorganized his team with the addition of defenders Julio Soler, Brian Caraballo and the Uruguayan Gonzalo Pérez instead of Matías Esquivel, Julián Fernández and the attacker Jonathan Torres.
Furthermore, at 4 minutes, Roger Martínez retired injured by midfielder Emiliano Vecchio, but the highlight occurred 60 seconds later, when the historic scorer of Lanús entered, Jose Sandto play his last game as a professional.
Despite the adverse situation, the local public woke up in applause for the ‘Granate’ forward who said goodbye at the age of 43 with 318 games, 171 goals and four titles in the southern zone institution.
With a numerical advantage, Racing played the next few minutes comfortably, trying associated play between its midfielders and attackers, with possession of the ball and a lot of space.
The midfielder Juan Quintero brought in a little more aggressiveness in the “Academy”, and was able to score the third when the Colombian enabled Gabriel Hauche, who failed in the definition.
For its part, Lanús attempted a counterattack through the skill of De la Vega from Olavar, who tried with distant shots and looking for the historic scorer.
However, with two men less, the process was very complex for Zielinski’s team, who had to settle for resisting a potential visitor rout.
The last minutes found Racing in the same attitude, largely dominating possession, although without hurting too much, while Lanús dedicated himself to seeking interventions from Sand to increase the emotion of his farewell.
In the last one, Lucas Acosta saved the local team twice, first with a shot from Nardoni and, on the rebound, a shot from Rojas.
In this way, Racing reached Godoy Cruz at the top of Zone B with 21 points, and was close to qualifying for the Final Phase with one match left to play, where it will face Belgrano at home, a match where it can also seal its classification to Copa Sudamericana.
For its part, Lanús, which is last in the group, still has a chance of entering the continental tournament, and will face Estudiantes in La Plata on the last day.
However, the local party took place at the end of the meeting, when The historic scorer received an emotional tribute accompanied by his teammates, leaders and all the local fans, within the framework of a fireworks show.
Source: Ambito
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