
Teenager Lencina bags brace as River crush Instituto 4-0
River top Group B standings with six points, while Instituto sit seventh with three points.
Facundo Colidio put River ahead in the 44th minute, with a deflected shot before 19-year-old Lencina doubled their lead just moments before halftime with a left-foot strike that deflected off Instituto centre back Fernando Alarcon.
Lencina made it 3-0 in the 67th minute with a well-controlled shot after receiving the ball in the box, while Instituto were reduced to 10 men six minutes later, after midfielder Francis Manuel Mac Allister received a red card for a foul on Lencina.
River made the most of the red as Giuliano Galoppo added a fourth goal to wrap up all three points in style at the Estadio Juan Domingo Peron in Cordoba.
Lencina was one of River's standout players, keeping the opposition defence on their toes as he scored his first two goals in the Argentine top flight.
"It was a dream day. Since I was a kid, you always dream of this moment ... I'll never forget it," Lencina told ESPN.
"I always started playing on the left. Last time (River manager Marcelo Gallardo) put me on the right. Wherever I play, I'm going to try to give my best. I scored my first goal on the left. I'm very happy."
Despite the dominant scoreline, Gallardo said it was not smooth sailing at the start of the game. River went on to dominate possession and had seven shots on target, three more than Instituto.
"Instituto positioned themselves firmly in midfield and tried to put us under pressure on the inside. We struggled to settle into the game for those first 15 minutes, until we started to find ourselves," Gallardo told reporters.
"There were some good things after that and at the end came the goals, which gave us peace of mind. Then, in the second half, we were better with the ball. We ended up having a good game overall."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
Nigeria come from two down to be crowned African champions
RABAT :Nigeria staged a remarkable fightback from two goals down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 and win the Women's Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday. It was a record extending 10th triumph for Nigeria, confirming their status as the most successful women's team in Africa. Esther Okoronkwo and Folashade Ijamilusi led the fight back at Rabat's Stade Olympique before substitute Jennifer Echegini swept home an 88th minute winner. Morocco skipper Ghizlane Chebbak and dribbling winger Sanaa Mssoudy scored in the first half hour to see the home team take a surprise lead as they sought to become only the fourth country to take the continental title after Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa. A capacity crowd saw Chebbak increase her tournament tally to five goals as she fired home from the edge of the area in the 12th minute after Nigeria had failed to clear properly. Mssoudy's goal came 12 minutes later, after Morocco striker Ibtissam Jraidi had crashed into centre back Marvis Ohale and the ball spilled out for Mssoudy to cut in and finish, but the referee determined there was no foul play and let the second goal stand. Nigeria dominated play thereafter and forced a succession of set pieces but it took some good fortune to begin their comeback. Ijamilusi's cross struck defender Nouhaila Benzina on the hand but Nigeria were only awarded a penalty after a VAR review. Okoronkwo tucked away the spot kick to reduce the score in the 64th minute. Seven minutes later they were level as Okoronkwo powered her way through the Morocco defence before unselfishly squaring for Ijamilusi to tap the ball home. Morocco were then awarded a penalty with 10 minutes remaining in another contentious handball call but this was overturned after the referee was asked to review. A crestfallen home team were then caught out as Echegeni raced onto the ball and tucked it away from close range for a dramatic winner. Nigeria have now won 10 of the 13 editions of the tournament and re-established their continental dominance after having ceded the title to South Africa at the last edition in 2022.


CNA
12 hours ago
- CNA
Spanish harmony to battle English resilience in Women's Euro final
BASEL, Switzerland :Sunday's final of the Women's Euros in Basel pitches the two best European teams of the current generation against each other, as a unified Spain side bristling with technique and intelligence takes on an equally talented England side that never gives up. Both sides have overcome adversity on their way to the final, with Spain almost losing playmaker Aitana Bonmati to a pre-tournament meningitis scare, and Sarina Wiegman's England coming close to elimination twice in the knockout round, only for late heroics to see them through. "We need to be at our best to beat Spain. I think they need to be at their best to beat us, too," England captain Leah Williamson told a media conference on Saturday. "I think there's a lot of respect between the two teams, and I'd be hesitant to rule an underdog in this scenario." Both sides said that all 23 squad members were fit and available for selection on Sunday, setting the stage for what is expected to be an intriguing battle of skill, wit and nerves. Defending champions England may not have played particularly well in their five games so far, but they have displayed an uncanny ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the knockout stage, first with a shootout win over Sweden and then with a come-from-behind extra-time victory over Italy. "I know that we've left it late," Williamson admitted. "(That was) definitely not the plan, we'd really like to wrap things up a little earlier and a little easier if we could." Spain have also gotten off to several slow starts, but they have still run out convincing winners in their five games to date, eventually finding a way to break down their opponents. "We have a particular way of playing, of training, we are very confident. Even if we won the games, there are things always that we can correct, things we see on video that we practice, and that's our line of work," Spain captain Irene Paredes said. The Spain team for Sunday's final is a much more harmonious one than the one that took beat England 1-0 in the World Cup final in 2023, when several of the best Spanish players boycotted the tournament in a dispute with coaching staff and their federation. Though Spain won that game 1-0 to claim their first major title, Montse Tome's squad has given a much more unified impression in Switzerland, with none of the negativity that surrounded them at that World Cup. "(This tournament) shows the change we are making, and right now I believe that, for all their efforts, the squad deserves to win," Tome said. "When you are in the elite football world that's not always the case, but we will do everything to win the final tomorrow." Spain's only defeat in their last 14 games came at the hands of Sarina Wiegman's side in the Nations League in February, and they will be slight favourites for Sunday's decider, but Paredes said such labels make little difference when the game kicks off. "I think both teams deserve to be in the final. We wanted to be there, at the beginning of the tournament that was our objective, to play six games. We're on our way. Tomorrow is number six," she told reporters. "We don't like this idea of being favourites. We know what it takes to be here, what we have to suffer, and we have to be focused." Sunday's final takes place at St. Jakob-Park stadium in Basel, with kick-off at 1800 CET (1600 GMT).


CNA
15 hours ago
- CNA
Liverpool beaten 4-2 by AC Milan in Hong Kong pre-season friendly
HONG KONG :AC Milan beat Liverpool 4-2 in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong on Saturday as the Premier League club's record signing Florian Wirtz made his first start for them. Former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish laid a wreath before the game and the players had "Diogo J 20" on their shirts in honour of their former teammate Diogo Jota, who died along with his brother Andre Silva in a car accident in Spain this month. The English champions fell behind in the 10th minute when Rafael Leao scored from a Christian Pulisic pass. Dominik Szoboszlai levelled 20 minutes later with a curling shot from the edge of the box following an assist by Rio Ngumoha who latched onto a long ball from Ryan Gravenberch. Leao orchestrated a devastating counter-attack as Milan reclaimed the lead early in the second half. The Portuguese winger powered past Conor Bradley on the left flank and squared for Ruben Loftus-Cheek who fired home from inside the box. Noah Okafor added Milan's third in the 60th minute. Cody Gakpo nodded in a stoppage-time consolation for Liverpool before Okafor walked in his second following a bad mix-up between Kostas Tsimikas and new Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili who had rushed out of his box. Mamardashvili replaced Alisson Becker in the second half, while Milan's new defender Pervis Estupinan, who joined from Brighton & Hove Albion, also made his debut. Wirtz and Ngumoha were the standouts for Liverpool in the first half, and Jeremie Frimpong impressed in the second but Arne Slot's team were outplayed by their Italian opponents.