River and revenge in Brazil: three reasons for the illusion and three for the worry

The River Campus experienced a long and difficult night, in which it is difficult to sleep. The goal of winning the fourth Copa Libertadores was in crisis after Gremio's 1-0 win at Monumental in the first semifinal. River was forced to win next Tuesday in Porto Alegre to reach the decisive case: if he gets a 1 to 0, he will be determined on penalties and if he wins a victory with two goals or more, he will wait for the winner of the series between Palmeiras and Boca.

The team of Marcelo Gallardo did not look good after falling on his pitch. However, in the face of revenge, there were reasons to delusion and worry almost at similar doses.

1- The Muñeco knows the formula to achieve a feat in Brazil. In 2015, after eliminating Boca in the round of 16 after the famous episode of pepper spray in Bombonera, River received Cruzeiro and sank 1 to 0. In revenge, in Belo Horizonte, he played this role for many of his fans. this combed gray hair was the best match as a visitor to the club's history and went into the semifinals with a 3-0 which looked a lot like a perfect match. Although the rivals are different and Gallardo of this team has only Jonatan Maidana, Leonardo Ponzio, Gonzalo Martinez (he scored 11 minutes), Rodrigo Mora (he started in 2015 and he stayed out of the bank) and Camilo Mayada (entered 20 minutes to Mineirao and he is now a substitute), the current team has proved that she had already had pasta in previous series against Racing and Independiente.

2- It seems difficult for River to come back to show a version as blurry as that of Tuesday. night. The logic says that in Brazil, this should improve, beyond that, football and logic do not always go hand in hand. In Monumental, it was rare that River generated only three goal situations throughout the match: two shots of Exequiel Palacios covered by Marcelo Grohe and a Maidana header pbaded over the bar. cross. River does not play much with a lack of offensive freshness so marked. It has the potential to harm, at least by some of these individual maneuvers that neither Gonzalo Martinez, Juan Fernando Quintero, Ignacio Scocco nor Rafael Borre have managed to impose in Buenos Aires. Moreover, in Porto Alegre, which seems to be an advantage: Walter Kannemann, one of the defensive players Gremio, who has reached the limit of three yellow cards will not play.

3- This is a team used to riding hard in a visitor state. Far from disturbing him, hostile scenarios seem to help River to offer good levels of play and to obtain positive results. In the current Copa Libertadores is undefeated outside the Monumental, after drawing draw against Flamengo (2 to 2), Racing (0 to 0) and Independiente (0 to 0), and to beat Emelec (1 to 0) ) and Independiente Santa Fe. of Bogotá (1 to 0). And in Superliga, he beat Boca 2-0 in La Bombonera, to mention another case of recent and complex clash in which he was able to celebrate. It is clear that he will have to increase his performances, but the football parity observed during the first leg has left the series open for the last 90 minutes.

1- Gremio made it clear in this Cup that his team was very competitive. versatile, able to adapt to the needs of each match. In The Monumental, a face that had never been seen before or, in any case, that had not been noticed so clearly: cunning, comfortable to play the limit of regulation, without blushing to save time and also hardened , fight, handsome, a song to the office butler. Unlike previous games, there were no more offensive lights and the times that generated a hazard were also counted as those of River. Aware of the offensive power of the Gallardo team, he managed to tame it tactically, even at the risk of losing its importance in attack by giving priority to the defensive aspects of the match. And for the retaliation, it is not necessary to rule out the fact that she can count on her two forwards holders, Luan and Everton, absent from the Monumental by respective injuries. who played in this cup and scored only five goals: it's hard to break. Marcelo Grohe, his goalkeeper, is one of the personalities of the team. The Brazilian press nicknamed it "Milagrohe" because of its propensity for unthinkable stops. He has a solid defense in which it is badumed that Paulo Miranda will replace the suspended Kannemann to accompany Geromel, this wall located in the central back. The line of four of the fund is backed by Maicon and Michel (the author of the goal in The Monumental), two indefatigable and intelligent circles. Estudiantes scored three goals in five, winning 2-1 on Quilmes' court then losing by the same score to Porto Alegre at the end of the match. The series was defined by shots on goal and the Brazilian team won.

3- The Brazilian team is strengthened by playing in the Arena do Gremio, where they won the five matches played in this Cup: from 4 to 0 against Monagas de Venezuela, 5 to 0 at Cerro Porteño of Paraguay, 1 to 0 to Defensor Sporting from Uruguay, 2 to 1 to Estudiantes de La Plata (and then penalty shoot-outs 5 to 3) and 4 to 0 to Atlético Tucumán. In Porto Alegre, visitors generally face a very unfavorable climate and River will have the challenge of overcoming this hostile terrain.