Why Inter’s victory over River Plate in Libertadores was epic

Internacional had an exciting game like no time before when they qualified for the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores this Tuesday night (8), in Beira-Rio. It is the second time over the last ten years that the club has reached this stage of the continental dispute. The Colorado team won on penalties against River Plate after a 2-1 victory in regulation time, which left the aggregate score tied.

After the dramatic match in Porto Alegre, Colorado has the chance to advance further in the Libertadores, going against the expectations created around the supposed superiority of River. Inter’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Bolívar, from Bolivia, who eliminated Athletico-PR also on penalties this Tuesday (8). With bet365 for beginners you can start making your predictions for Inter’s next games.

Inter’s feat against the Argentine team became one of the standout stories of the 2023 season for the team from Rio Grande do Sul, mainly due to the back and forth at the end of the game. The three goals of the match were scored in the final half of the second half. Inter even opened 2-0, which qualified them directly for the quarterfinals, but a goal by River in the 45th minute took the dispute to penalty kicks. Check out some of the reasons that made the game between Inter and River at Beira-Rio dramatic:

CONFUSION AND SENSE OF INJUSTICE

Inter had the best chances throughout the game, and the pressure from Colorado bothered River throughout the match. At the start of the first half, River goalkeeper Armani saved a number of Inter shots, most of them featuring Alan Patrick. The club from Buenos Aires, however, showed a solid and organized defense and dangerous counterattacks.

The Colorados were left with a sense of injustice when Bustos, in the attack, was brought down by full-back Enzo Díaz inside the River area. Referee Andrés Matonte did not call a foul, even after talking to VAR. The tense atmosphere worsened at the start of the second half, with the expulsion of a member of Inter’s coaching staff and a fight on the field after Aránguiz hit Enzo Díaz in the face with the game stopped.

At 14 minutes, Enner Valencia put the ball inside River’s goal, but the referee called offside.

COMING AND COMING AT THE END

Inter only actually opened the scoring in the 24th minute, when Market, a former River player, headed into the goal and opened it 1-0 for the home team. With that, the score was taking the game to the decision on penalties. Until then, the 0-0 ranked River, who had won the first leg, in Buenos Aires, by 2-1.

Eight minutes later, Colorado’s optimism turned to euphoria when Alan Patrick, taking a free kick, scored Inter’s second goal, sending the club from Porto Alegre to qualify for the quarterfinals without having to dispute the maximum penalties.

In the 45th minute, however, River turned around when Rojas scored the only goal for the Buenos Aires team. With that, the two opponents went to penalties.

20 PENALTY KICKS

As if there wasn’t enough drama already, Inter and River needed to take ten penalties each for the game to have a winner. Both teams converted all five of their regulation kicks. The first error came in River’s seventh penalty, when Solari touched the ball twice and had his conversion annulled. Inter, however, threw away the advantage, as De Pena hit the post in the seventh colorada kick.

On the tenth kick, Rojas, until then River’s hero in the game, hit the crossbar. Afterwards, goalkeeper Rochet converted Inter’s tenth kick, finally taking the team from Rio Grande do Sul to the quarterfinals of the Libertadores.

FIRST WIN IN EIGHT GAMES

Another factor that makes this Tuesday’s game (8) epic is the fact that Inter had gone seven games without a win. The last colorada victory had been on June 26, over Independiente Medellín, in the Libertadores group stage. With that, it was also the team’s first victory over coach Eduardo Coudet, who took over in the second half of July.

RECORD PUBLIC

To close, the dramatic match against River was watched by a record audience in Beira-Rio. The game had 50,479 in-person spectators, the highest number since the stadium was renovated to host the 2014 World Cup.

Read more:

Libertadores: Fluminense beat Argentinos Juniors 2-0 and qualify for the quarterfinals

Libertadores 2023: see the ranking of games in the round of 16 of the competition