River Plate frustrated by Monterrey in 0-0 stalemate
PASADENA: River Plate were held to a 0-0 draw by Mexico's Monterrey on Saturday, frustrating the Argentinian club's hopes of booking their place in the knockout rounds of the Club World Cup.
Poor finishing and a string of saves from Monterrey's Argentine goalkeeper Esteban Andrada – who used to play for River's arch-rivals Boca Juniors – denied the team from Buenos Aires three points that would have sealed their passage to the last 16 from Group E.
The result leaves the group standings finely balanced heading into the final round of fixtures on Wednesday, with River and Italy's Inter Milan level on four points each. Monterrey, who are third with two points, face Japan's already eliminated Urawa Red Diamonds.
A bright opening in front of 57,393 fans at the Pasadena Rose Bowl saw Monterrey enjoy the better of the early exchanges, with former Spain international midfielder Sergio Canales's run and shot forcing River goalkeeper Franco Armani to save smartly after 13 minutes.
But for long periods the game failed to develop into a rhythm, with a series of niggling fouls – 23 in the first half alone – making for a scrappy opening 45 minutes.
River were left to rue missing two gilt-edged scoring opportunities in the closing minutes of the first half.
On the stroke of half-time Giuliano Galoppo found himself with time and space in the centre of the Monterrey penalty area, but sent his shot curling high and wide of the top right-hand corner.
River's army of noisy fans behind the goal groaned in frustration and were soon howling in disbelief moments later when Lucas Martínez Quarta squandered a glorious chance.
A corner on the right was flicked on and fell to the centre-half on the edge of the six-yard box, only for the defender to sidefoot his shot wide of the post.
River continued to dominate after half-time, with teenager Franco Mastantuono – who will join Real Madrid after the tournament – denied by Andrada with a 67th-minute effort.
The Argentinians wasted another golden chance on 76 minutes, with Colombian international Miguel Borja shooting at Andrada after a sublime through ball by Facundo Colidio had put him clean through on goal.
A frustrating night for River ended with Kevin Castano sent off in injury time after picking up his second yellow card.--AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
17 minutes ago
- The Sun
PSG thrash Inter Miami 4-0 to reach Club World Cup quarters
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN steamrollered Lionel Messi's Inter Miami 4-0 to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, where they will face Bayern Munich after they overcame a spirited Flamengo side. The German giants defeated the Brazilians 4-2 in Sunday's other last 16 clash with a brace from Harry Kane, after the European champions proved far too strong for Miami's cast of ageing stars. Miami hoped Messi's magic could help them produce an unlikely result against the Argentine star's former club, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled by Luis Enrique's rampant team. Messi and his former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16 but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare in Atlanta. Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefited from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target for the treble-winners. "Clearly, we are experiencing a historic season for our club, we aim to go far in this competition," said Luis Enrique. Messi was the main draw, as fans chanted his name and most of the 66,000 crowd were clad in Miami's hot pink, interspersed with Argentina shirts. PSG dominated from the start and took the lead when Neves nodded in unmarked at the back post from a free-kick. With the Ligue 1 champions pressing high and keeping possession Javier Mascherano's Miami found it hard to get Messi involved. The 38-year-old's intermittent interventions were not enough to hold back the Parisian tide. PSG doubled their lead in the 39th minute when veteran holding midfielder Busquets got his footwork wrong, with Ruiz stealing the ball and combining with Barcola to set up Neves again. "He played a very good game... in this team everyone can score and make decisive contributions," said Dembele. Aviles then deflected Desire Doue's cross into his own net, and Hakimi netted the fourth before half-time to put PSG out of sight. Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi produced a brilliant pass for Suarez early in the second half, but the Uruguayan could not finish to offer Miami a lifeline. Despite the impossibility of a comeback Messi seemed determined to bow out with a bang. When Suarez was fouled on the edge of the box Messi had the chance to repeat his free-kick winner against Porto in the group stage, but his effort hit the wall. Luis Enrique sent on winger Ousmane Dembele for his first appearance at the tournament after a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman looked rusty and PSG could not expand their advantage. Miami's second-half performance was respectable and the defeat was by a lesser margin than the French side's 5-0 Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan. "I think we were above the expectations people had for us (at the tournament)... obviously we were facing the best team in the world playing football right now, so it was difficult," said Alba. Bayern 'can beat anyone' Kane produced two lethal finishes as Bayern beat out Filipe Luis' Flamengo side backed by a passionate following at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. "It's going to be another tough game -- PSG have had an amazing season," said England international Kane. "We played them earlier in the year and we came out on top. "We know it's going to be difficult but we can beat anyone when we're at our level, we've shown that in the tournament so far." Erick Pulgar headed Joshua Kimmich's corner into his own net and then Kane's deflected drive flew into the bottom corner as Bayern took a two-goal lead. The three-times Copa Libertadores champions battled back in as Gerson smashed a shot past Manuel Neuer to delight most of the 61,000 crowd. Leon Goretzka restored Bayern's lead but former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho pegged them back once more from the penalty spot. Kane settled the contest with a fine touch and finish to set up the quarter-final clash against PSG. "We have to rest now, recover from this game, use every single day we've got to rebuild our energy," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. "Then what more do you want? Top top sides playing each other on the biggest stage -- we'll be ready for that."
The Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Sun
PSG rout Messi's Miami, Bayern through to Club World Cup quarters
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN steamrollered Lionel Messi's Inter Miami 4-0 to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, where they will face Bayern Munich after they overcame a spirited Flamengo side. The German giants defeated the Brazilians 4-2 in Sunday's other last 16 clash with a brace from Harry Kane, after the European champions proved far too strong for Miami's cast of ageing stars. Miami hoped Messi's magic could help them produce an unlikely result against the Argentine star's former club, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled by Luis Enrique's rampant team. Messi and his former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16 but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare in Atlanta. Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefited from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target for the treble-winners. "Clearly, we are experiencing a historic season for our club, we aim to go far in this competition," said Luis Enrique. Messi was the main draw, as fans chanted his name and most of the 66,000 crowd were clad in Miami's hot pink, interspersed with Argentina shirts. PSG dominated from the start and took the lead when Neves nodded in unmarked at the back post from a free-kick. With the Ligue 1 champions pressing high and keeping possession Javier Mascherano's Miami found it hard to get Messi involved. The 38-year-old's intermittent interventions were not enough to hold back the Parisian tide. PSG doubled their lead in the 39th minute when veteran holding midfielder Busquets got his footwork wrong, with Ruiz stealing the ball and combining with Barcola to set up Neves again. "He played a very good game... in this team everyone can score and make decisive contributions," said Dembele. Aviles then deflected Desire Doue's cross into his own net, and Hakimi netted the fourth before half-time to put PSG out of sight. Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi produced a brilliant pass for Suarez early in the second half, but the Uruguayan could not finish to offer Miami a lifeline. Despite the impossibility of a comeback Messi seemed determined to bow out with a bang. When Suarez was fouled on the edge of the box Messi had the chance to repeat his free-kick winner against Porto in the group stage, but his effort hit the wall. Luis Enrique sent on winger Ousmane Dembele for his first appearance at the tournament after a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman looked rusty and PSG could not expand their advantage. Miami's second-half performance was respectable and the defeat was by a lesser margin than the French side's 5-0 Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan. "I think we were above the expectations people had for us (at the tournament)... obviously we were facing the best team in the world playing football right now, so it was difficult," said Alba. Bayern 'can beat anyone' Kane produced two lethal finishes as Bayern beat out Filipe Luis' Flamengo side backed by a passionate following at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. "It's going to be another tough game -- PSG have had an amazing season," said England international Kane. "We played them earlier in the year and we came out on top. "We know it's going to be difficult but we can beat anyone when we're at our level, we've shown that in the tournament so far." Erick Pulgar headed Joshua Kimmich's corner into his own net and then Kane's deflected drive flew into the bottom corner as Bayern took a two-goal lead. The three-times Copa Libertadores champions battled back in as Gerson smashed a shot past Manuel Neuer to delight most of the 61,000 crowd. Leon Goretzka restored Bayern's lead but former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho pegged them back once more from the penalty spot. Kane settled the contest with a fine touch and finish to set up the quarter-final clash against PSG. "We have to rest now, recover from this game, use every single day we've got to rebuild our energy," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
New Straits Times
22 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
PSG rout Messi's Inter Miami to reach Club World Cup quarters
ATLANTA: Paris Saint-Germain steamrollered Lionel Messi's Inter Miami 4-0 to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday as the European champions proved too strong for a team of ageing stars. Miami hoped the Argentine superstar's magic could help them produce an unlikely result against his former club, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled in Atlanta by Luis Enrique's rampant team. Messi and his former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16 but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare over the 90 minutes. Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefitted from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target. After Neves opened the scoring early on Miami resisted until PSG hit three goals in 10 minutes towards the end of the first half. "We had to play a serious game, the competition is really starting and I think we played well," PSG winger Ousmane Dembele told reporters on his return from injury. Messi was the main draw, as fans chanted his name and most of the 66,000 crowd were clad in Miami's hot pink interspersed with Argentina shirts. PSG dominated from the start, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia floating into the box and teeing up Bradley Barcola, but Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari thwarted him with an outstretched leg. However shortly afterwards over-run Miami right-back Marcelo Weigandt fouled Desire Doue and it led to PSG's opener. Vitinha whipped a free-kick to the back post where Portuguese midfielder Neves ran in completely unmarked, stooping to nod past Ustari after six minutes. With the Ligue 1 champions pressing high and keeping possession Javier Mascherano's Miami found it hard to get Messi involved. The 38-year-old's intermittent interventions were not enough to hold back the Parisian tide. PSG doubled their lead in the 39th minute when veteran holding midfielder Busquets got his footwork wrong in front of his own box. Spanish compatriot Ruiz rapidly relieved him of the ball and combined with Barcola to set up Neves to tap home his second. PSG grabbed their third when Aviles deflected Doue's cross into his own net, and Hakimi netted the fourth before half-time to put PSG out of sight. The Morocco international's first effort was deflected onto the crossbar but he stayed alert at the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium to fire home the rebound. Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi lost his cool with a swipe aimed at Vitinha as the Argentine raged against the midfielder, Miami's impotence and PSG's swagger. Messi produced a brilliant pass for Suarez early in the second half, chipping a ball over the PSG defence, but the Uruguayan could not finish to offer Miami a lifeline. Despite the impossibility of a comeback -- there was to be no 'remontada' like the one Luis Enrique's Barcelona managed in 2017 against PSG from four goals down in which Messi and Suarez scored -- the Argentine was determined to bow out with a bang. Messi drew a first save from PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma after the hour mark with a low effort. Luis Enrique sent on Dembele for his first appearance at the tournament after a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman was rusty and imprecise. When Suarez was fouled by Lucas Beraldo on the edge of the box Messi had the chance to repeat his free-kick winner against Porto in the group stage, but his effort hit the wall. It was not to be for Messi or Miami, but their second-half performance was respectable and the defeat was by a lesser margin than the French side's 5-0 Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan. "I think we were above the expectations people had for us (at the tournament), we were the best team in our group, obviously we were facing the best team in the world playing football right now, so it was difficult," said Alba. "Despite that in the first half we competed and above all we did in the second, we had more control of the game, more chances, and created more problems for PSG."
