La Plata is Pincharrata. Estudiantes defeated Gimnasia 1-0 in the city classic of diagonals and is the second finalist of the 2025 Torneo Clausura.
The match started with slight dominance from the visiting team, which was more proactive in attack. Meanwhile, as in any good classic, rough play did not take long to appear. In the 12th minute, Piovi received a yellow card after a hard tackle on Nicolás Barros Schelotto, son of Mellizo, who was present at the stadium.
Later on, Piedrahita, Schelotto himself, and Pintado would also be booked for fouls on Piovi, Ascacíbar, and Cetré, respectively. On Pincha's side, Medina was shown a card for a slap on Augusto Max.
Towards the end of the first half, the goalkeepers from both teams saved their sides. On one hand, Insfrán neutralized two promising attacks from Estudiantes, while Muslera barely managed to stop a dangerous shot from Panaro from outside the box that was deflected by Arzamendia. With both goals at 0, the classic went into halftime.
In the second half, in the 53rd minute, Núñez saw the third yellow card for the visitors after a kick on Giampaoli. Minutes later, Cetré capitalized on a mistake by Giampaoli himself and sent a low cross to Palacios, who only had to tap it in to score Estudiantes's 1-0 in the classic.
With the score against them, Fernado Zaniratto made three emergency substitutions to try to turn things around: Hurtado, Briasco, and Merlo for Merlini, Panaro, and Piedrahita. On Eduardo Domínguez's side, the Pincharrata coach also made a triple substitution to strengthen the attack: Domínguez, Castro, and Amondarain for Alario, Palacios, and Piovi.
Although Gimnasia showed some reaction after the blow, they could not break down a Pincha side that relied on long balls and counterattacks to try to increase the lead. Despite some additional substitutions on both sides, the match did not have any other notable incidents, ending in a narrow victory for the visitors.
With this result, Estudiantes will face Racing in the final of the Torneo Clausura next Saturday, December 13, at the Estadio Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, with the kickoff time yet to be confirmed.
