Torneo Clausura round 13: Instituto win in Varela and pull clear, River rout Belgrano and Central catch Argentinos

Instituto won the meeting of Zona A's top two 1–0 in Florencio Varela and are now five points clear of Defensa y Justicia, Boca and Vélez. In Zona B, Rosario Central won 3–2 in Tucumán and Argentinos Juniors 1–0 in Banfield, leaving both on 25 points, while Belgrano, who had shared top spot, lost 3–0 in Córdoba to River, who moved up to sixth. The Avellaneda derby finished 1–1. The round brought 37 goals in 15 matches, seven away wins, four home wins and four draws, and six goals from the 85th minute on.

Thursday

Huracán 1–2 Gimnasia de La Plata was settled in the final minute. N. Fernández put Gimnasia de La Plata ahead on 18 from P. Silva Torrejón's pass; J. Caicedo equalised from the penalty spot on 83, after the VAR confirmed the foul, and German Conti, from Fernández's pass, made it 1–2 on 90. Huracán had 11 corners to three, but four shots on target to Gimnasia's six. That penalty takes Caicedo to 14 goals, level with C. Tarragona and J. Marabel at the top of the scorers' list.

Friday

Defensa y Justicia 0–1 Instituto was decided by J. Lázaro on 23, with a shot that, according to La Nación, hit the crossbar in the top corner and bounced in and out. Defensa had 67 per cent of the ball and 20 shots, but only three on target, the same as Instituto. In La Nación's view, the win took Instituto into the play-offs; "The team is the star," said their captain, Fernando Alarcón. It is Instituto's ninth win of the tournament, more than any other side, and takes them to 29 points.

Boca 2–1 Talleres was turned round by the hosts. M. A. Galarza put Talleres ahead on 11 from Rick's pass; Miguel Merentiel equalised on 18 from L. Blanco's, and L. Flores, from M. Delgado's, made it 2–1 on 49. Talleres had a single shot on target. Boca are unbeaten in twelve, since their defeat in the first round, and, according to Infobae, went top of the annual table, level with Argentinos.

Saturday

Banfield 0–1 Argentinos Juniors: Matías Giménez scored on 66 from Gastón Verón's pass. Argentinos had 68 per cent of the ball and five shots on target; Banfield had one.

Independiente Rivadavia 2–2 Tigre was rescued by Tigre on 90. M. Fernández, from J. M. Elordi's pass, put Independiente Rivadavia ahead on 20 and A. Barrionuevo equalised on 26 from J. Saralegui's; J. I. Florentín Bobadilla made it 2–1 on 52 and Tigre's M. Fernández, from F. Álvarez's pass, made it 2–2 on 90. Tigre ended a run of five straight defeats.

Platense 0–1 Lanús: Allan Wlk scored on 29 from Sasha Marcich's pass. Platense had 12 corners and 16 shots, but only two on target. Lanús have conceded nine goals in 13 matches, the fewest in the tournament.

Atlético Tucumán 2–3 Rosario Central began with two goals in four minutes from Gastón Ávila: on 3 from Ángel Di María's pass and on 7 from G. Cantizano's. Atlético Tucumán were level by half-time, through A. Canelo on 37 from R. Ruiz's pass and Ruiz on 42 from L. Díaz's, and J. Fernández, from A. Rodríguez's pass, won it for Central on 80. Central had nine shots on target. La Nación reports that Fernández, 22, scored after a run from his own half, and quotes Di María on him: "The lads say he's my brother, my double."

Vélez 1–0 Gimnasia de Mendoza: Gimnasia de Mendoza had a goal by Facundo Lencioni ruled out by the VAR on 10, and T. Silvero, from L. Robertone's pass, won it on 85. Vélez had 20 shots and 12 corners.

Sunday

Racing 1–1 Independiente, the inter-zone match and the Avellaneda derby: M. Zaracho put Racing ahead on 29 and M. Meza equalised from the penalty spot for Independiente on 65; according to La Nación, Gonzalo Escudero committed the foul. Racing have not won the derby since February 2024: there have since been three draws, Independiente's 1–0 win in April 2026 and this 1–1. On 12 points, Racing are seven off the top eight with nine to play for.

Estudiantes de La Plata 1–2 San Lorenzo: E. Cetré put Estudiantes de La Plata ahead from the penalty spot on 14, after the VAR confirmed it; G. Corujo equalised on 44 from A. Ladstatter's pass and F. Gulli, from E. Salas's, won it for San Lorenzo on 90. Estudiantes had 65 per cent of the ball and two shots on target; San Lorenzo had six.

Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 2–1 Aldosivi was turned round late on. A. Vombergar put Aldosivi ahead on 68; I. Hesar equalised on 85 and G. Alanís, from S. Rosane's pass, made it 2–1 on 87. Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, already relegated, according to Infobae, won for the first time since the first round, after five straight defeats, and left Aldosivi bottom of Zona B.

Belgrano 0–3 River: T. Galván, from G. Montiel's pass, opened the scoring on 45+3; A. Correa, from L. Beltrán's, added the second on 49 and T. Almada, from Galván's, the third on 72. Correa had another goal ruled out by the VAR for handball on 90+1. River had seven shots on target. According to La Nación, the VAR checked a possible offside by Montiel in the build-up to the first goal. Belgrano's run of three straight wins is over.

Monday

Newell's 2–1 Central Córdoba: Jerónimo Gómez Mattar opened the scoring on 31 and Santiago Solari added the second on 69; Leonardo Sequeira pulled one back for Central Córdoba on 80 from Horacio Tijanovich's pass. Newell's had 19 shots, seven on target, and climbed to sixth in Zona A.

Sarmiento 1–1 Barracas Central: Jhon Rentería put Sarmiento ahead on 14 from Cristian Zabala's pass, and Rodrigo Insúa equalised from the penalty spot for Barracas Central on 78, after the VAR confirmed it. The VAR also ruled out a goal by Junior Marabel on 87 and overturned a red card for Sarmiento's Lucas Suárez on 90+8. Barracas had 72 per cent of the ball and 20 shots.

Deportivo Riestra 1–1 Unión closed the round. Juan Cruz Randazzo, from Mariano Bracamonte's pass, put Deportivo Riestra ahead on 50, and Tobías Rubio, from Lucas Ayala's, equalised for Unión on 57. Unión ended a run of four defeats.

The zones after round 13

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 29 (13); Boca 24 (13); Defensa y Justicia 24 (13); Vélez 24 (13); Lanús 23 (13); Newell's 20 (13); Gimnasia de Mendoza 20 (13); Independiente 19 (13) | San Lorenzo 17 (13); Estudiantes de La Plata 14 (13); Unión 14 (13); Deportivo Riestra 12 (13); Platense 11 (13); Central Córdoba 10 (13); Talleres 9 (13).
• Zona B: Rosario Central 25 (13); Argentinos Juniors 25 (13); Belgrano 22 (13); Gimnasia de La Plata 22 (13); Sarmiento 21 (13); River 20 (13); Barracas Central 19 (13); Huracán 19 (13) | Independiente Rivadavia 19 (13); Atlético Tucumán 14 (13); Tigre 13 (13); Banfield 13 (13); Racing 12 (13); Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 9 (13); Aldosivi 8 (13).

In Zona B, Rosario Central and Argentinos have 25 points and are separated by goal difference; Belgrano and Gimnasia de La Plata are three behind. River moved up to sixth, and Independiente Rivadavia dropped out of the top eight on goal difference, on the same 19 points as Barracas Central and Huracán. In Zona A, Instituto are the only side pulling away: five points clear of Boca, Defensa y Justicia and Vélez. The race chart shows how they did it: they lost in the first round and the eighth, and won nine of the other eleven matches. Boca, who took six points from the first five rounds, have caught Defensa and Vélez with a twelve-match unbeaten run.

In the annual table, which adds up the zone stages of the Apertura and the Clausura, Boca and Argentinos have 54 points, and Rosario Central and Independiente Rivadavia 53.

Numbers to know

• 37 goals in 15 matches: seven away wins, four home wins and four draws.
• Nobody sent off, and three goals ruled out by the VAR: Facundo Lencioni's, A. Correa's and Junior Marabel's.
• C. Tarragona of Unión, J. Marabel of Sarmiento and J. Caicedo of Huracán share top spot in the scoring charts with 14; A. Módica of Gimnasia de Mendoza has 13 and G. Ávalos of Independiente 11.
• Instituto have won nine of their 13 matches, more than any other side; Boca are unbeaten in twelve.
• Lanús have conceded nine goals, the fewest in the tournament; San Lorenzo have scored seven, the fewest.

Next up

Round 14 begins on Friday 23 October with Gimnasia de Mendoza v Platense (18:30 Buenos Aires time). On Saturday 24, Rosario Central host Huracán (21:30 Buenos Aires time); Sunday 25 brings Independiente v Boca (17:00 Buenos Aires time) and River v Racing (19:15 Buenos Aires time), and the round ends on Tuesday 27 with Argentinos Juniors v Independiente Rivadavia (19:00 Buenos Aires time). 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, Infobae.