River Plate frustrated by Monterrey in 0-0 stalemate
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.
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France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
River Plate frustrated by Monterrey in 0-0 stalemate
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.
France 24
12 hours ago
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South American teams lay down the gauntlet to Europe at Club World Cup
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France 24
14 hours ago
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Inter Milan, Dortmund claim first wins at Club World Cup
At Lumen Field in Seattle, Ryoma Watanabe got an early opening goal for Urawa Reds, who were backed by a noisy contingent of their supporters. But captain Lautaro Martinez -- who got Inter's equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Monterrey of Mexico in their opening game -- repeated the trick to level matters with a clever overhead kick 12 minutes from time. Valentin Carboni was then the unlikely hero as he grabbed the winner two minutes into injury time. The 20-year-old Argentine had not played a competitive game since early October after suffering a serious knee injury while on loan at Marseille. Carboni had not made an appearance for Inter in over two years, but he was on to hand to sidefoot home when the ball fell to him in the area. "Our opponents play with their hearts and to counter that as a team we need to play with more pride, be humble and know how to suffer," Martinez told broadcaster DAZN after Inter were made to work for the victory. The result left Inter provisionally top of Group E on four points, one point ahead of River Plate before the Argentinian giants faced Monterrey later in Pasadena. Meanwhile a second defeat in as many matches means Urawa Reds are eliminated, and many of their supporters were in tears at full-time. "Our emotion is very bad after this game. We are out of the tournament so now we can only fight in the last game to achieve our one and only win," said their Polish coach Maciej Skorza. Bellingham strikes Earlier Jobe Bellingham got his first goal for Dortmund as his new club overcame stifling heat in Cincinnati to beat Sundowns 4-3 and move to four points from two matches in Group F. The South African champions had taken a surprise early lead through a fine solo goal from Lucas Ribeiro. However, Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams handed Dortmund their equaliser on a plate, passing the ball straight to Felix Nmecha, who stroked home. Serhou Guirassy gave Dortmund the lead with his 35th goal since the beginning of the season. English midfielder Bellingham, who this month followed older brother Jude's footsteps in joining the German side from Sunderland, started for the first time for Dortmund and made it 3-1 just before the break. Khuliso Mudau's own goal made it 4-1 before the hour mark, but Sundowns salvaged some pride by reducing the deficit through Iqraam Rayners and Lebo Mothiba. "I'm sweating like I've just come out of a sauna," said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac when asked about the conditions in a game which started at midday local time. "It was tough going for both teams, but the opposition are used to it. We certainly didn't give our best performance, but that wasn't possible today." Sundowns will still go into their final game in Group F with a chance of qualifying for the last 16. "The boys made a wonderful performance... it was a hell of a match. I'm not happy but very proud," said their Portuguese coach, Miguel Cardoso. Fluminense, who held Dortmund 0-0 in their first match, took on Ulsan of South Korea at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in the other Group F game later on Saturday.
