In the match played at the Gigante de Alberdi, which included broadcast of ESPN Premiumabsolutely everything happened: from the early advantage of the Pirate to what seemed like a comfortable victory for The Academy and ended in an unforgettable tie, with a triplet of Franco Jara.
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The start was a repeated story for La Academia, which came out to play with the majority of substitutes: 8 minutes had passed when after a very long pass from his field, Facundo Lencioni appeared alone on the left to send a precise cross that Franco Jara connected, after anticipating Nazareno Colombo.
In this way, the visit began at an early disadvantage for the third consecutive time, after what happened against Talleres de Remedios de Escalada in the Argentine Cup (Fernando Duré at 7′), Bragantino in CONMEBOL Sudamericana (Thiago Borbas at 5 and 7 minutes) and at the start of the local competition at the Gigante de Alberdi. However, this time the reaction was immediate.
At 12 minutes, after two rejections in the local area, Santiago Sosa He hit a phenomenal left-footed volley that hit the crossbar and it became partial 1-1 after the rebound off the body of goalkeeper Nahuel Losada. It was the first goal in Argentine football for the River Plate player, who had scored twice with the Atlanta United shirt.
Two minutes later, Sosa jumped to block the ball in his area and Facundo Cambeses hit him hard with his elbow, while clearing it with his fists. The crash caused a deep cut on his scalp that forced him to leave for a few moments to change his shirt and shorts.
The visit was for more. Baltasar Rodríguez shot at the goal, the ball hit Agustín Baldi’s left arm and after the VAR warning by Mauro Vigliano, Nazareno Arasa reviewed the play and declared a penalty. The comeback took place at 28′ of the first half when Roger Martinez he changed it for a goal. Belgrano demanded that Sosa grab Jara in the previous play, but the request was unsuccessful.
Juan Cruz Real’s team looked dangerous on the left of their attack, especially with Lencioni and González Metilli making Gastón Martirena suffer and forcing Sosa to retreat behind, but the efficiency was all Racing’s.
The 1st half was ending and it was 3-1. Urzi played a short corner on the right with Baltasar Rodriguez, who sent the cross that Leonardo Sigali headed into the net. 1st shout of the year and 10th for the institution for the experienced defender, who does not enjoy much continuity and has not scored since the agonizing 2-1 against Boca in October 2023.
Already comfortable with the result, the second half was played at Racing’s request. Beyond the chance at 4 minutes of the complement, after González Metilli’s center from the right that neither the admitted Bryan Reyna nor Lencioni managed to push, each attack by La Academia was about to end in a goal.
This is what happened at 11, when a very active Johan Carbonero overtook Matías Moreno on the left, tried to finish between the legs of Losada and Roger Martínez took advantage of the rebound for his double. 6th goal of the year and 8th since his return for the Colombian.
Costas took advantage of the win to continue giving minutes to undeveloped players like Iván Pillud, who had not played since November. And just after Racing’s second change window, Belgrano found the discount at 31: poisonous cross into the Marín area and header from Mariano Troilo.
The 2-4 was the push that the Pirate needed to believe in their chances. And just five minutes later, he closed the gap again. The Peruvian Reyna scored the diagonal, reached the bottom from the right and threw the center back that Jara transformed into 3-4.
Three minutes, at 39′, then the Celeste madness broke out: very bad pass behind the entered Ignacio Galvan, Jara stood hand in hand and defined with great subtlety above Cambeses for the final 4-4. The 35-year-old forward, a Pirate fan, shouted his 9th goal in 22 games for the club.
In the last minutes, still trying to digest what happened, Racing turned to the area Losada, one of the great figures in Córdoba. Although, of course, he had already exhausted all his effectiveness with the four goals he scored before an unexpected tie.
Just like what happened in its entire cycle, The Academy still cannot reverse a score since the arrival of Gustavo Costaswhich comes from being left out of the quarterfinals of the 2024 League Cup, suffering a blow when falling 2 to 1 against Talleres de Escalada for the Argentine Cup, and losing to Bragantino for the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
Belgrano, leader of Group C in CONMEBOL Sudamericana, this time was able to recover from a new defeat against Racing (4-1 and 0-4 for the 2023 and 2024 League Cup, respectively) in a match that will be difficult to forget.