Torneo Clausura round 15: Boca win the Superclásico against nine-man River, and Central and Argentinos stay level

Boca beat River 1–0 at the Bombonera with a header by Lautaro Di Lollo, against opponents who finished with nine men, and are second in Zona A, three points behind Instituto, who threw away a 3–0 lead in La Plata. In Zona B, Rosario Central won in Junín on 90+5 and Argentinos Juniors won in Tucumán, and they remain level on 31 points with one round of the zone stage to go. Round 15 brought 44 goals in 15 matches: four home wins, five away wins and six draws, and nine players sent off.

Friday 30 October

Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 1–2 Gimnasia de La Plata: Marcelo Torres opened the scoring on 24 from Ignacio Fernández's pass, and Fernández, from Agustín Auzmendi's, added the second on 40. Gabriel Alanis pulled one back for Estudiantes de Río Cuarto on 54 from Ibrahim Hesar's pass. Alexis Steimbach of Gimnasia de La Plata was sent off on 57 and Juan Antonini of the hosts on 86. Estudiantes de Río Cuarto had 15 shots, two on target.

Huracán 0–2 Tigre: Jerónimo Domina put Tigre ahead on 48 from Gonzalo Martínez's pass, Fabio Pereyra of Huracán was sent off on 87 after a VAR review, and Tiago Serrago, from Martín Garay's pass, sealed it on 90+7. Huracán had 58 per cent of the ball and 17 shots, two on target.

Racing 2–1 Aldosivi: Andrés Vombergar put Aldosivi ahead on 20 from Felipe Anso's pass; Adrián Martínez equalised on 24 from Tomás Conechny's, and on 60 Ignacio Agustín Rodríguez converted a penalty confirmed by the VAR. Aldosivi had 20 shots, two on target. According to Infobae, Aldosivi and Estudiantes de Río Cuarto have already been relegated.

Sarmiento 1–2 Rosario Central was decided in the last minute. Manuel García put Sarmiento ahead on 5 from Julián Mavilla's pass, and Gastón Ávila equalised on 29 from Enzo Copetti's. Sarmiento were down to ten on 67, when Renzo Orihuela was sent off, and to nine on 90, when the VAR led to a red card for Santiago Salle; Ávila, from Ignacio Ovando's pass, made it 1–2 on 90+5. Central had 65 per cent of the ball and 13 corners.

Saturday 31 October

Deportivo Riestra 0–3 Talleres: Valentín Fascendini opened the scoring on 25 from Matías Galarza's pass, Mateo Cáceres added the second on 68 and Agustín Álvarez Martínez the third on 73. Talleres had eight shots, five on target; Deportivo Riestra, 16, also five on target.

Vélez 2–2 San Lorenzo: Juan Cruz Policella, from Matías Pellegrini's pass, put Vélez ahead on 22, and Pellegrini added the second on 25. Alexis Cuello, from Rodrigo Auzmendi's pass, pulled one back on 45+1, and Auzmendi equalised for San Lorenzo on 81. The VAR ruled out a goal by Manuel Lanzini on 55. Vélez had 65 per cent of the ball and 17 shots, six on target.

Estudiantes de La Plata 3–3 Instituto: Facundo Suárez put Instituto ahead on 3, Leonel Mosevich added the second on 48 and Jhon Córdoba the third on 52, both from Alex Luna's passes. Santiago Núñez of Estudiantes de La Plata was sent off on 50, and the hosts came back with ten men: Guido Carrillo pulled one back on 58 from Lucas Piovi's pass, Tiago Palacios made it 2–3 on 65 and Fabricio Pérez, from Edwuin Cetre's pass, 3–3 on 86. Estudiantes had 74 per cent of the ball and eight shots on target. According to La Nación, the goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was at fault for all three of Instituto's goals, and Estudiantes can no longer reach the play-offs.

Sunday 1 November

Boca 1–0 River: Lucas Martínez Quarta was sent off on 10: according to La Nación, the VAR called the referee, Nicolás Ramírez, to review a foul on Miguel Merentiel. Lautaro Di Lollo made it 1–0 on 27, heading in Sebastián Villa's corner, the same paper reports, and Gonzalo Montiel was shown red on 79 for a heavy challenge on Lautaro Blanco. Boca had 71 per cent of the ball, 16 shots and ten corners; River had three shots, none on target. Boca have won the last three Superclásicos and are unbeaten in 14 matches in the tournament. La Nación considered both red cards correct, but criticised Ramírez for not applying the same standard to Boca, who finished with seven players booked. According to Infobae, Boca have already secured their place in the 2027 Copa Libertadores.

Belgrano 2–2 Barracas Central: Lucas Passerini scored both of Belgrano's goals, on 27 from Emiliano Rigoni's pass and on 48 from Lucas Zelarayán's. Esteban Rolón pulled one back on 80, and Nicolás Demartini, from Rafael Barrios's pass, equalised for Barracas Central on 90+6. Barracas had 21 shots, nine on target, and 14 corners.

Newell's 1–1 Unión: Juan Pablo Ludueña put Unión ahead on 59 from Marcelo Estigarriba's pass, and an own goal by Ignacio Isla brought Newell's level on 76. Unión had five shots on target; Newell's, two.

Lanús 1–1 Gimnasia de Mendoza: Gonzalo Lobos put Lanús ahead on 45+4 from Felipe Peña Biafore's pass, and an own goal by Raúl Loaiza brought Gimnasia de Mendoza level on 72. Gimnasia had six shots on target and the Lanús goalkeeper made five saves.

Monday 2 November

Defensa y Justicia 1–1 Independiente: Leandro Fernández put Defensa y Justicia ahead on 38 from David Barbona's pass, and Maximiliano Meza equalised for Independiente on 44 with a penalty confirmed by the VAR. Defensa had eight shots on target and the Independiente goalkeeper made seven saves.

Platense 2–0 Central Córdoba: Guido Mainero opened the scoring on 58 from Kevin Retamar's pass, and Víctor Cuesta, from Bautista Merlini's, added the second on 74. Platense had 14 corners; Central Córdoba had two shots on target.

Atlético Tucumán 1–2 Argentinos Juniors: Matías Giménez put Argentinos ahead on 30 from Franco Paredes's pass, and an own goal by Clever Ferreira made it 0–2 on 43. Pedro Canelo pulled one back from the penalty spot for Atlético Tucumán on 86, and Luciano Vallejo of the hosts was sent off on 90+1. Argentinos had two shots on target.

Independiente Rivadavia 3–1 Banfield was settled in the first half. Santiago Daniele put Banfield ahead on 9 from David Zalazar's pass; José Florentín, from passes by Juan Elordi and Leonel Bucca, turned it round on 11 and 15, and Daniele turned the ball into his own net to make it 3–1 on 45. The VAR ruled out a goal by Banfield's Lautaro Martín Gómez on 40. Independiente Rivadavia had two shots on target.

The zones after round 15

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 33 (15); Boca 30 (15); Vélez 28 (15); Defensa y Justicia 28 (15); Lanús 25 (15); Newell's 22 (15); Gimnasia de Mendoza 21 (15); Independiente 20 (15) | San Lorenzo 19 (15); Unión 18 (15); Platense 17 (15); Estudiantes de La Plata 15 (15); Talleres 12 (15); Deportivo Riestra 12 (15); Central Córdoba 10 (15).
• Zona B: Rosario Central 31 (15); Argentinos Juniors 31 (15); Gimnasia de La Plata 28 (15); River 23 (15); Belgrano 23 (15); Barracas Central 23 (15); Independiente Rivadavia 22 (15); Sarmiento 21 (15) | Huracán 19 (15); Atlético Tucumán 17 (15); Tigre 16 (15); Racing 15 (15); Banfield 14 (15); Aldosivi 11 (15); Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 9 (15).

With one round to play, Instituto, on 33 points, are three clear of Boca and five clear of Vélez and Defensa y Justicia. In Zona B, Central are above Argentinos on goal difference, plus 12 to plus eight, and Gimnasia de La Plata are three points behind. In eighth place, Independiente have 20 points in Zona A, one more than San Lorenzo, and Sarmiento 21 in Zona B, two more than Huracán. The race chart shows Boca, who took nothing from the first round and are the only one of Zona A's top four to win this round, three points behind Instituto.

In the annual table, according to Infobae, Boca have 60 points, one more than Rosario Central, and Argentinos have 57.

Numbers to know

• 44 goals in 15 matches: four home wins, five away wins and six draws.
• Nine players sent off, two of them from River and two from Sarmiento.
• Four own goals: Ignacio Isla, Raúl Loaiza, Clever Ferreira and Santiago Daniele, who also scored for Banfield.
• C. Tarragona of Unión leads the scorers with 15; A. Módica, J. Marabel and J. Caicedo have 14 and Vélez's R. Martínez 13.
• Instituto have scored 24 goals and conceded 13; Vélez have the best attack, with 25.

Next up

Round 16, the last of the zone stage, has all 15 matches listed for Sunday 8 November at 18:00 Buenos Aires time, among them Boca v Defensa y Justicia, Instituto v Newell's, Rosario Central v Estudiantes de Río Cuarto and Argentinos Juniors v Huracán. Both zones and the kick-off times are on the Liga Profesional page.

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