Torneo Clausura round 12: Lanús end Vélez's unbeaten run, Instituto draw with Boca and Zona B has three leaders

Vélez came into round 12 as the only unbeaten side in the Torneo Clausura and left it with their first defeat: Lanús beat them 2–0 on Monday. Instituto drew 2–2 with Boca in Córdoba and stay top of Zona A, now two points clear of Defensa y Justicia, who won in Santa Fe. In Zona B, Rosario Central beat Independiente Rivadavia 5–0 and Belgrano won 2–0 away to Racing, so both drew level with Argentinos Juniors, who drew in Vicente López: all three have 22 points. The round brought 35 goals in 15 matches, six home wins, four away wins and five draws.

Friday

Aldosivi 1–3 Sarmiento was decided late on. Junior Marabel put Sarmiento ahead on 18 from Jhon Rentería's pass and Lucas Castro equalised for Aldosivi on 20 from Martín García's. Julián Mavilla, from Jonathan Herrera's pass, made it 1–2 on 86, and Herrera, from Thyago Ayala's, settled it on 89. Marabel's goal takes him to 14, level with C. Tarragona at the top of the scorers' list.

Gimnasia de La Plata 1–1 Atlético Tucumán was rescued late by Gimnasia de La Plata. L. Godoy put Atlético Tucumán ahead on 83 from R. Ruiz's pass, and M. Torres equalised from the penalty spot on 90, after the VAR confirmed the foul. Gimnasia had 26 shots, six on target, to Tucumán's eight.

Instituto 2–2 Boca went back and forth: Instituto led twice and Boca equalised twice. Fernando Alarcón opened the scoring on 14 and Enner Valencia equalised on 23; Jonathan Galván, from Leonel Mosevich's pass, made it 2–1 on 48, and Miguel Merentiel, from Lautaro Blanco's, made it 2–2 on 56. Boca had 69 per cent of the ball, but Instituto had four shots on target to Boca's three. Boca have not lost since the first round: they are unbeaten in eleven. According to La Nación, Leandro Paredes came on in the second half and went off about 16 minutes later with discomfort in his right thigh, and Valencia asked to come off with an inflamed ankle; "The soldiers are falling," said Rodolfo Arruabarrena, who, according to Infobae, assumed that Paredes would miss the first leg of the Sudamericana semi-final against Vasco da Gama, pending tests.

Unión 0–2 Defensa y Justicia was settled by Defensa y Justicia before half-time: J. Gutiérrez scored on 43 from D. Barbona's pass, and C. Pérez, from Gutiérrez's, added the second on 45. Santiago Sosa was sent off on 76 for serious foul play after the VAR called the referee over. Unión had 26 shots, seven on target, and each goalkeeper made seven saves.

Saturday

Barracas Central 2–0 Huracán belonged to N. Briasco, who scored on 9 from K. Jappert's pass and on 62. Barracas Central had 42 per cent of the ball and beat Huracán, who managed a single shot on target.

Central Córdoba 2–2 Estudiantes de La Plata had all four of its goals in the first half. M. Monsalve put Estudiantes de La Plata ahead on 22 from Fabricio Pérez's pass; L. Sequeira, on 37 from D. Barrera's pass, and M. Santos, on 38 from M. Iacobellis's, turned it round for Central Córdoba, and E. Cetré equalised from the penalty spot on 45, after the VAR confirmed it. Central Córdoba had 22 shots, eight on target.

Tigre 1–2 Banfield: Adrián Balboa put Banfield ahead on 6, Jerónimo Domina equalised for Tigre on 10 from Santiago López Grobin's pass, and Tomás Adoryan, from Santiago Esquivel's, made it 1–2 on 36. Tigre had 68 per cent of the ball and 25 shots but lost for the fifth match in a row.

River 1–0 Estudiantes de Río Cuarto was decided early: M. Acuña scored on 6. River had 73 per cent of the ball and 28 shots; Estudiantes de Río Cuarto had one shot, off target, and lost for the fifth match in a row. According to Infobae, that defeat confirmed Estudiantes de Río Cuarto's relegation to the Primera Nacional after a single season. Leonardo Ponzio, River's coach, regretted his side's lack of cutting edge: he would have liked "to take our chances".

Sunday

San Lorenzo 1–0 Deportivo Riestra: T. Rodríguez Pagano scored on 67 from R. Auzmendi's pass to win it for San Lorenzo, who move to 14 points. It is San Lorenzo's fifth goal in twelve matches. Deportivo Riestra had three shots on target.

Platense 1–1 Argentinos Juniors, the inter-zone match, began with D. Porcel's goal for Argentinos on 11. F. Zapiola equalised from the penalty spot for Platense on 70. Argentinos had five shots in the whole match, two on target.

Rosario Central 5–0 Independiente Rivadavia was the rout of the round. Ángel Di María opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 11, and Alex Arce of Independiente Rivadavia was sent off on 40 after a VAR review. With an extra man, Central scored four goals in 23 minutes: J. Campaz on 51 and Di María on 57, both from V. Pizarro's passes, E. Copetti on 69 from A. Sández's and M. Ruben on 74 from I. Ovando's. La Nación billed it as a head-to-head with a direct rival in the annual table, which Rosario Central lead, and notes that it was Marco Ruben's first home goal since his return to the club. Gastón Ávila, the Central defender on the receiving end of the kick that got Arce sent off, finished the match but was taken to hospital with dizziness and nausea, the same paper reports.

Racing 0–2 Belgrano: L. Zelarayán, from L. Passerini's pass, put Belgrano ahead on 41, Emiliano Rigoni had a goal ruled out on 70, and F. Vázquez, from Zelarayán's pass, settled it on 90. Racing had 62 per cent of the ball; Belgrano had eight shots on target to Racing's four, and have the tightest defence in the tournament, with seven goals conceded. In La Nación's view, Racing, under the interim coach Sebastián Romero, are left with practically no chance of reaching the play-offs.

Talleres 0–0 Independiente finished goalless because the VAR ruled out N. Banegas's goal for Independiente on 88, for an earlier offside by Santiago Montiel, according to La Nación. Talleres stay bottom of Zona A on nine points.

Monday

Lanús 2–0 Vélez handed Vélez their first defeat of the Clausura, in their twelfth match. Sasha Marcich put Lanús ahead on 59 from Lucas Besozzi's pass, and on 90+5 an own goal by Tomás Marchiori made it 2–0. Lanús had six shots on target to Vélez's three. According to La Nación, Vélez were without the injured Lanzini and Pellegrini, and Marcelino Moreno made his first start of the Clausura for Lanús after missing the first nine rounds through surgery; the defeat also stopped Vélez from going top of the annual table.

Gimnasia de Mendoza 1–0 Newell's: Agustín Módica, from Matías Vargas's pass, scored on 58, his twelfth goal of the tournament. Newell's had a goal by Santiago Solari ruled out by the VAR on 29, and had 61 per cent of the ball, but only one shot on target. Gimnasia de Mendoza are sixth in Zona A.

The zones after round 12

Points, with matches played in brackets. The top eight in each zone go through to the round of 16; the bar marks the cut.

• Zona A: Instituto 26 (12); Defensa y Justicia 24 (12); Boca 21 (12); Vélez 21 (12); Lanús 20 (12); Gimnasia de Mendoza 20 (12); Independiente 18 (12); Newell's 17 (12) | Estudiantes de La Plata 14 (12); San Lorenzo 14 (12); Unión 13 (12); Deportivo Riestra 11 (12); Platense 11 (12); Central Córdoba 10 (12); Talleres 9 (12).
• Zona B: Rosario Central 22 (12); Belgrano 22 (12); Argentinos Juniors 22 (12); Sarmiento 19 (11); Huracán 19 (12); Gimnasia de La Plata 19 (12); Barracas Central 18 (12); Independiente Rivadavia 18 (12) | River 16 (11); Atlético Tucumán 14 (12); Banfield 13 (12); Tigre 12 (12); Racing 11 (12); Aldosivi 8 (12); Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 6 (12).

In Zona A, Instituto are two points clear of Defensa y Justicia and five ahead of Boca and Vélez. Zona B has no single leader: Rosario Central, Belgrano and Argentinos Juniors all have 22 points and are separated by goal difference. The race chart shows how they got there: Argentinos took 12 points from the first four rounds and just one from rounds 9 and 10, while Rosario Central have taken ten from the last four. River, with a match in hand, are two points off the top eight.

Numbers to know

• 35 goals in 15 matches: six home wins, four away wins and five draws.
• Two players sent off, Santiago Sosa (Defensa y Justicia) and Alex Arce (Independiente Rivadavia), and three goals ruled out.
• Junior Marabel of Sarmiento and C. Tarragona of Unión share top spot in the scoring charts with 14; J. Caicedo of Huracán has 13 and Agustín Módica of Gimnasia de Mendoza 12.
• No side is unbeaten in the Clausura any more. Tigre and Estudiantes de Río Cuarto have lost five in a row.
• San Lorenzo have scored five goals in 12 matches, the fewest in the tournament.

Next up

On Wednesday 14 October, Sarmiento v River (19:00 Buenos Aires time) completes round 11. Round 13 begins on Thursday 15 October with Huracán v Gimnasia de La Plata (20:00 Buenos Aires time). The other fourteen matches are scheduled for Sunday 18 October, among them Boca v Talleres, Defensa y Justicia v Instituto, Belgrano v River and Racing v Independiente. Both zones and the kick-off times are on the Liga Profesional page.

Sources for the context: La Nación, La Nación, La Nación, La Nación, La Nación, La Nación, Infobae, Infobae, Infobae.