River Plate’s hopes of securing an early spot in the Club World Cup knockout stage were put on hold Saturday after a goalless draw against Monterrey left the Argentinian side frustrated.
Despite dominating long spells of the match, River were repeatedly denied by Monterrey’s Argentine goalkeeper Esteban Andrada, a former player for River’s bitter rivals, Boca Juniors.
Andrada’s string of saves, combined with wasteful finishing from the Buenos Aires club, kept the scoreline blank and left Group E finely poised ahead of the final round of matches.
River and Inter Milan now sit level with four points each, while Monterrey remain in contention on two points. The Mexican side will next face Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds, who have already been eliminated from the competition.
The match, played before a crowd of 57,393 at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, saw Monterrey start brightly. Former Spanish international Sergio Canales tested River goalkeeper Franco Armani with a well-struck effort after 13 minutes. However, the game soon became disjointed, with frequent fouls—23 in the first half alone—disrupting the rhythm and flow of play.
Credit: Stu Forster/Getty Images/AFP
River had two golden chances late in the first half but failed to capitalise. Giuliano Galoppo, unmarked in the penalty area, sliced his shot wide of the top corner just before the break, drawing groans from the large contingent of River supporters. Moments later, Lucas Martínez Quarta missed an even better opportunity, sidefooting wide from close range after a flick-on from a corner.
After the interval, River continued to press. Teenager Franco Mastantuono, who is set to join Real Madrid after the tournament, forced Andrada into another save midway through the second half.
The best chance of the night fell to Colombian forward Miguel Borja in the 76th minute, but Andrada again denied River, saving after a superb through ball from Facundo Colidio sent Borja through on goal.
River’s disappointing evening ended on a sour note when Kevin Castano was shown a second yellow card in stoppage time, leaving the Argentine side to finish the game with 10 men.
