Torneo Clausura round 14: Boca win in Avellaneda on 88, River beat Racing, and Central and Argentinos stay level

Boca beat Independiente 1–0 in Avellaneda with a header on 88, River beat Racing 1–0 at the Monumental, and both go into round 15's Superclásico on the back of a win. In Zona B, Rosario Central and Argentinos Juniors both won and remain level on 28 points; in Zona A, Instituto won again and are five points clear of Vélez, who won 5–0 in Santiago del Estero, and of Boca and Defensa y Justicia. The round brought 30 goals in 15 matches: eight home wins, five away wins and two draws.

Friday 23 October

Gimnasia de La Plata 2–0 Sarmiento: Ignacio Fernández opened the scoring on 13 and Franco Ramón Torres added the second on 74. The VAR ruled out a goal by Lucas Janson on 54. Gimnasia de La Plata had five shots on target; Sarmiento, three.

Gimnasia de Mendoza 1–2 Platense was turned round late on. Agustín Módica put Gimnasia de Mendoza ahead on 10, and the VAR ruled out a goal by Gonzalo Lencina on 37. Juan Carlos Gauto equalised for Platense on 79 from Guido Mainero's pass, and Bruno Christian Sepúlveda, from Franco Zapiola Yamartino's, won it on 90+3. Platense had 24 shots, ten on target.

Tigre 0–1 Atlético Tucumán: Ramiro Ruiz Rodríguez scored on 72 from Juan Infante's pass and was sent off on 75. Tigre had 69 per cent of the ball, 17 shots and ten corners, and have lost four of their last five; Atlético Tucumán move up to 17 points.

Saturday 24 October

Banfield 1–1 Lanús, the round's inter-zone match and the Clásico del Sur: Adrián Balboa put Banfield ahead on 20 from Lautaro Martín Gómez's pass, and Carlos Izquierdoz equalised for Lanús on 62 from Matías Sepúlveda's. Banfield had a single shot on target.

Talleres 1–2 Defensa y Justicia was turned round by the visitors at the Kempes. Agustín Álvarez Martínez put Talleres ahead on 32; Leandro Fernández equalised on 47 from Juan Manuel Gutiérrez's pass, and Gutiérrez, from Valentín Pucheta Loza's, made it 1–2 on 88. Talleres had 20 shots, seven on target, and stay bottom of Zona A on nine points; according to La Nación, they can no longer reach the last 16.

San Lorenzo 0–0 Newell's: four shots on target each. San Lorenzo have scored seven goals in 14 matches, the fewest in the tournament; Newell's stay sixth in Zona A.

Rosario Central 2–0 Huracán: E. Coronel opened the scoring on 20 from J. Campaz's pass, and Á. Di María, from F. Ibarra's, sealed it on 84. Central had six shots on target. On 45+1 their coach, Jorge Almirón, was sent off: according to La Nación, for dissent towards the referee, Yael Falcón Pérez. La Nación notes it was Central's fifth win in their last six matches of the tournament. Huracán have lost three in a row.

Sunday 25 October

Aldosivi 1–0 Belgrano: A. Vombergar scored on 20 from N. Cordero's pass. Belgrano had 64 per cent of the ball and nine corners, and lost for the second match running. Aldosivi won, but, according to La Nación, can no longer reach the last 16.

Independiente 0–1 Boca was decided on 88, when F. Herrera headed in a corner from S. Villa. According to Infobae, it was the 20-year-old Facundo "Jagger" Herrera's first goal for Boca. Independiente had 23 shots, five on target, to Boca's ten. Boca are unbeaten in 13, since their defeat in the first round, and beat Independiente for the first time since a 2–0 win in July 2023. "It's a goal that's worth three points to us," said their coach, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, according to Infobae. Independiente are eighth in Zona A on 19 points.

River 1–0 Racing: L. Rivero headed in A. Correa's cross on 33. According to La Nación, Lautaro Rivero played in place of the suspended Lucas Martínez Quarta. The VAR ruled out a goal by Correa on 45+4 because Gonzalo Montiel was offside and, according to La Nación, blocking the goalkeeper's view. Aníbal Moreno went off injured in the first half; River's coach, Leonardo Ponzio, said at his press conference, according to Infobae, that he has lower-back pain and has not been ruled out of the Superclásico. Racing, on 12 points, can no longer reach the last 16.

Barracas Central 2–1 Estudiantes de Río Cuarto was turned round by the hosts. I. Hesar put Estudiantes de Río Cuarto ahead on 44; E. Taborda equalised on 66 from T. Porra's pass, G. Maffini was sent off on 67 and R. Barrios, from G. Campi's pass, made it 2–1 on 74. Barracas Central had 21 shots, twelve on target.

Central Córdoba 0–5 Vélez: M. Pellegrini opened the scoring on 7 from R. Martínez's pass, and Martínez scored three: on 21, on 58 from J. Policella's pass and from the penalty spot on 83. L. Robertone added the fourth on 61. According to La Nación, Martínez's second goal was a bicycle kick; "I think today was my best match," said the Paraguayan. A. R. Maciel of Central Córdoba was sent off on 82 and Vélez's R. Aliendro on 87. Vélez had nine shots on target.

Monday 26 October

Unión 3–1 Estudiantes de La Plata: an own goal by Lucas Ayala of Unión put Estudiantes de La Plata ahead on 40. Cristian Tarragona equalised on 51 from Juan Pintado's pass, Marcelo Estigarriba made it 2–1 on 64 and Erik Ramírez, from Tarragona's pass, 3–1 on 90+6. Estudiantes had 64 per cent of the ball and four shots on target; Unión, six. With 15 goals, Tarragona is alone at the top of the scorers' list.

Instituto 1–0 Deportivo Riestra: the VAR ruled out a goal by Jonathan Galván on 77 and confirmed a penalty for Instituto on 81, which Jeremías Ezequiel Lázaro converted on 84. Instituto had 77 per cent of the ball and 13 corners; Deportivo Riestra had two shots on target. It is Instituto's tenth win of the tournament, more than any other side.

Tuesday 27 October

Argentinos Juniors 1–0 Independiente Rivadavia closed the round. Sebastián Prieto scored on 67 from Gastón Verón's pass. Argentinos had 18 shots, six on target, and drew level with Rosario Central on 28 points; Independiente Rivadavia, on 19, are ninth in Zona B on goal difference.

The zones after round 14

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

• Zona A: Instituto 32 (14); Vélez 27 (14); Boca 27 (14); Defensa y Justicia 27 (14); Lanús 24 (14); Newell's 21 (14); Gimnasia de Mendoza 20 (14); Independiente 19 (14) | San Lorenzo 18 (14); Unión 17 (14); Estudiantes de La Plata 14 (14); Platense 14 (14); Deportivo Riestra 12 (14); Central Córdoba 10 (14); Talleres 9 (14).
• Zona B: Rosario Central 28 (14); Argentinos Juniors 28 (14); Gimnasia de La Plata 25 (14); River 23 (14); Belgrano 22 (14); Barracas Central 22 (14); Sarmiento 21 (14); Huracán 19 (14) | Independiente Rivadavia 19 (14); Atlético Tucumán 17 (14); Banfield 14 (14); Tigre 13 (14); Racing 12 (14); Aldosivi 11 (14); Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 9 (14).

With two rounds to play, La Nación has Instituto, Vélez, Boca and Defensa y Justicia through to the last 16 in Zona A, and Rosario Central and Argentinos in Zona B; Racing, Aldosivi, Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, Deportivo Riestra, Central Córdoba and Talleres can no longer get in. In Zona B, Central are above Argentinos on goal difference, plus eleven to plus seven, and Gimnasia de La Plata are three points behind. The race chart shows River, who took nothing from the first four rounds, climbing to 23 points and fourth place in the zone.

In the annual table, which adds up the zone stages of the Apertura and the Clausura, Boca and Argentinos have 57 points, Rosario Central 56 and Vélez 55, according to Infobae.

Numbers to know

• 30 goals in 15 matches: eight home wins, five away wins and two draws.
• Four players sent off: Ramiro Ruiz Rodríguez, G. Maffini, A. R. Maciel and R. Aliendro, plus the Rosario Central coach, Jorge Almirón.
• Four goals ruled out by the VAR: Lucas Janson's, Gonzalo Lencina's, Ángel Correa's and Jonathan Galván's.
• C. Tarragona of Unión leads the scorers with 15; A. Módica, J. Marabel and J. Caicedo have 14 and Vélez's R. Martínez 13.
• Six matches finished 1–0 or 0–1.

Next up

Round 15 begins on Friday 30 October with Estudiantes de Río Cuarto v Gimnasia de La Plata and Huracán v Tigre (19:00 Buenos Aires time), and Racing v Aldosivi and Sarmiento v Rosario Central (21:15 Buenos Aires time). On Saturday 31, Defensa y Justicia play Independiente (14:45 Buenos Aires time) and Vélez play San Lorenzo (19:15 Buenos Aires time). The Superclásico, Boca v River, is on Sunday 1 November (15:00 Buenos Aires time), and the round ends on Monday 2 with Atlético Tucumán v Argentinos Juniors and Independiente Rivadavia v Banfield (21:15 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, Infobae, Infobae, Infobae.