With two defeats in his first three Group D appearances, the millionaire had no margin of error in the continental tournament.
The start of River’s participation in the 2023 Copa Libertadores has far from lived up to expectations. With two losses in his first three games, the Millionaire had no margin for error and had to pull out the calculator too early to figure out what he needs to qualify for the round of 16, the minimum goal for a team that started it year with the illusion of fighting for the continental title.
Group D of the Copa Libertadores 2023: standings, calendar and results
After losing 3-1 at the height of La Paz against The Strongest in their debut, beating Sporting Cristal 4-2 at the Monumental and suffering a heavy 5-1 loss in their visit to Fluminense, Núñez’s team back first in last place in Group D, with the same three points as the Bolivians and Peruvians, but a complicated -4 goal difference.
The zone’s fourth date began with The Strongest’s surprise 1-0 victory against Bolivia’s Fluminense, something that is of no use to the Millionaire. Now the Bolivians were left with six points, three points more than River and Sp Cristal.
Within the complicated panorama, there is at least two good news for Martín Demichelis’ team: the first is that he is already rid of the two visits that loomed more complicated in terms of moves, apart from the fact that both ended in defeat; and the second is that he still depends on himself to make it through the round.
WHICH RIVER SHOULD BE CLASSIFIED TO THE EIGHTH
The two losses in the first three days left River with little chance of finishing first in the area, but at least the Millionaire knows that if he wins the three remaining matches, he will be among the best 16 on the continent, no matter what the other rivals do.
In case they don’t add up to three in any of the matches, then Micho’s team should look at the rest. And in this sense, the game that can definitively determine the course for the group is the next one, on Thursday the 25th in Lima against Cristal.
If Núñez’s team is victorious in Peru, with a draw in Núñez against Flu and a victory over The Strongest at home in the final round, they qualify. Meanwhile, if they tie on Inca soil, they’ll have to win the next two and hope that Cristal leaves a point in the road to avoid having to define by goal difference.
A defeat in Lima, meanwhile, would be catastrophic: if the logic is correct and The Strongest win the two home games, River should prevail in the last two days and resort to the goal difference with the Bolivians. Even in this scenario, there could be a draw with the Peruvians, if they win in Rio on the last day.
Source: Goal